Nico diAngelo and the House on Grimmauld Place
by Eowebrinda
Summary: Nico shadow travels to London and breaks into Number 11, Grimmauld Place to stay the night. He sets off an alarm system Moody set up to know if anyone was trying to find Number 12. Naturally, the wizards have to bring him in.
1. Chapter 1

Nico was alone. As usual. And he was just fine with it, thank you very much.

That afternoon, he had shadow traveled to London. It was a tiring process, but he figured he could sleep in some abandoned building or an alley and then shadow travel home in the morning. He plugged into his iPod and turned up the volume loud enough he could pretend nobody else was around. Even in a crowd, he was on his own. The relaxing screams of a tortured soul, or at least a singer who did a good impression, came through his ears and soothed him.

He and Percy had been fighting. Again. Percy wanted him to come live permanently in his apartment, but Nico knew what would follow. Go to school. Get friends. Be betrayed when they thought you were a little different. No, thank you. He was just fine the way he was. Living at camp sucked for the exclusion due to his dad, but at least there he knew he couldn't trust them in the first place. None of that 'this time will be different' crap he always got from adults or Percy. Because every time, it just came back to bite him.

He stared up at the sky. It was a cloudy night, but the moon was clear winking eye, nearly gone. It was nothing but a sliver of ice, melting away to nothing. Looking up to the clouds just made him feel empty and small inside. Normal people got to believe that there was someone up there, looking out for him, but he knew that anyone with him in mind would be across the ocean and not really interested in his wellfare(aka Percy).

Kicking a rock with his toe, Nico let out a long sigh and stared at the ground, pulling his black cap down low over his eyes. It was probably time to try and find somewhere to sleep for the night. A stiff breeze blew through his very bones, and he decided that he'd rather break and enter somewhere for the night. He glanced up at the houses next to him. They were dingy and dark, and matched his mood. Number 11, Grimmauld Place, he decided, looked like a nice empty, abandoned house, probably chock full of horror movie potential. Perfect for a ghost king to nap. Nico smiled and blended into the shadows, which wrapped around him like a cold blanket, and then he found himself standing in the second floor window. He peered at the spot he had stood only moments before.

That got him every time. Shadow traveling was fun.

Letting out a big sigh, Nico realized how much more tired he had been than he thought. Doing a quick check to make sure he wasn't about to nap with a hellhound, Nico declared the place safe and

started looking for somewhere to crash. He stumped down the creaky, rotting stairs. All of the rooms had been emptied of furniture, but he found a grubby rug that smelled faintly of mouse droppings in the corner of the kitchen next to the hearth. Obviously, the hearth was stone cold, but he used his lighter and some ancient newspapers to get a small fire going. A wooden cutting board had been forgotten, and he tossed it into the flame in lieu of logs. He left his iPod on, figuring he could charge it when he got home tomorrow.

Then he wrapped the moldy mat around his thin shoulders and curled up in front of the warm embers that glowed like eerie watchful eyes in the pitch black of the house.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean, someone next door?" Lupin asked.<p>

"What I just said," Moody growled, folding his arms. "Someone tripped the alarms in the house next door. Not a Muggle because they just appeared instead of using a door."

Uneasy looks were sent around the kitchen table. Sirius turned his head towards his soup miserably. They were going to check it out, he knew, and he'd miss all the action as usual. Stirring his spoon through the chunky broth, he muttered a few curses to himself.

Molly had been ladling soup out, and she paused with the pot on her hip. "So what does it mean?" she asked.

Moody stood abruptly, pushing his chair back. The kids started, surprised by the sudden movement, as did Molly. Lupin, Sirius, and the other adults remained unaffected. They were used to Moody's behavior by now. "Could be Death Eaters, finally catching on to us," he suggested. A few gasps raced around the room. "We'll have to check it out. I'll go, but I'll need two others."

Tonks leaped up. "I'll go, Moody! Love to help!" Moody considered her, and then nodded.

"You too, Sirius," he said.

Molly jumped, as did Sirius, who had begun to beam broadly. He was finally leaving the house! It was about time he got a breath of fresh air! "I don't think it's a good idea," she protested. Sirius cut her a furious look. She was too protective of him. He wasn't her son. And it was his house. Curt responses sprang to his tongue, but Moody ended all discussion.

"We'll be going straight through the wall. He won't be seen," he told her. Sirius drooped slightly, but it was still going to be something to do! He would do anything to get out of the house. Besides, he could certainly open a window covertly enough in the other house. "We'll be back shortly. If it is a Death Eater, we'll have to dispose of him. If not, we'll be here in time for dessert."

Sirius was bouncing on his toes eagerly. "Let's go now," he enthused, taking out his wand and twirling it around his fingers. Red sparks danced on the tip of it. One shot out and burned the table.

"Oh, really, Sirius," Molly scolded. "Do be a bit more mature."

He shrugged. "It's my table, anyways," he told her as she aimed her wand straight at the burn marks and they vanished.

Moody motioned for him and Tonks to follow him towards the wall that rubbed against Number 11. "We'll just be deactivating protective spells for this room," he said. "Everywhere else will still be hidden and perfectly safe." Then he raised his wand at the wall and an archway was suddenly cleared with a soft bang.

* * *

><p>Nico was jolted out of his sleep by the house vibrating slightly. He pulled out his headphones on the iPod and checked the time on the top of the screen. It was only nine, he had barely slept forty five minutes. It wasn't even enough to shadow travel out of the city. Maybe a few blocks, though. Before he could, he heard a shuffling upstairs. "Hello?" he called cautiously, his hand gripping the handle of his dagger. "Is someone there?"<p>

Something started down the steps, making wet snorting noises. Nico's mind went straight to potential threats. Hellhounds. Minotaur. Even Furies, although he knew they wouldn't touch him for fear of his father's rage. Still, it was a dark house. Anything could go down.

Then a large black dog appeared and padded out of the darkness. He pushed his dagger back inside his jacket and relaxed, laughing a little. "It's just a puppy," he said, reaching out to pet its head. The dog panted eagerly. It trotted towards the door. "Do you need to get out, boy?" he asked, wandering after it. "More like how did you get in," Nico added to himself, curiously. "No collar. You must be a stray. Nobody wanted you, either?" He scratched the dog's ears, reluctant to set it loose in the night.

Another louder thud echoed from upstairs. Nico's head whipped around. "Got larger friends, doggie?" he asked, his voice turning cold. Nico wished for lights in the house. Hades' blood gave him excellent low light vision, but even he was struggling with this house.

Suddenly, a frothing maw lunged out of nowhere at him. A hellhound with flaming red eyes tackled him to the ground. The smell of rotting flesh accompanied it, filling his nose. Nico yelled furiously as its razor sharp teeth closed on his arm. A claw dug into his chest. Red hot streaks of pain blazed along his abdomen. With his free arm that wasn't being bitten off, he groped in his jacket for his knife. Where was it? Scrabbling for the cool hilt, Nico gritted his teeth against the pain. Finally, his fingers closed around it and he whipped it up, stabbing into the beast's neck. It dissolved in a puff of golden dust. Nico sheathed his knife quickly and picked himself up.

He didn't have to see the wounds to know they were bad. His jacket was torn up horribly, just imagine what the actual flesh must have looked like. Pressing his good hand to his stomach, he felt his palm get warm and sticky. Suddenly woozy, Nico slumped against the wall. The dog had started barking loudly at him. "Shut up," he hissed at it. "You want to draw a whole pack of them down on me?" It didn't quit, and thundering foot steps echoed down the stairs. Two bright dots appeared in the room, illuminating the faces of a horribly scarred man who was missing an eye and a young woman with bright red hair.

"Who're you?" the man demanded, jabbing what looked like a stick at him. Nico raised his hands cautiously, but winced when he stretched his abdomen.

The girl stepped forward and her eyes winded. "He's bleeding, Moody! Whatever that thing was, it obviously wasn't helping him." He wondered if it had attacked them first, and only been distracted by his delicious demigod scent. Poor mortals. Then again, they had these weird glowing sticks. He was wondering if they were even mortals at all.

"How did you get into the house?" Moody pressed.

Nico shrugged, and wished he hadn't as a sting of pain shot through him. "Front door. Not... rocket science," he gasped. The guy jabbed the light further into his face.

"Stop lying," he ordered. "I know you came in some other way."

"Moody," the girl said. "He's injured. Interrogate him once he stops bleeding out."

The man grunted in response and picked up Nico over one shoulder. Nico started kicking him. "Hey, what are you doing?" he demanded, furiously. "Let me go! Put me down, you kidnapper!" The dog trotted after him, pausing to pick up his iPod in his jaws. Nico mentally thanked him, wondering how they trained the dog so well as he continued to pound on the man's back.

They stepped through a gap in the wall. "Take care of the hole," Moody said, striding into what appeared to be a brightly lit house. Nico's jaw dropped. This hadn't been there before. What had happened? The house was equally grim, but it had power and looked lived in. The furniture certainly was a big change. Although he wondered if it was for the better, as the ancient leather seats, cracked and dusty, didn't exactly look inviting. For a moment, Nico had been stunned into silence, but he promptly resumed whacking Moody.

The girl paused and turned around to do something, but Nico was carried out of the room before he could see what.

"Hey, Moody. How was the—is that a _kid_?" asked a sickly looking man, who had been carrying a stack of plates. "You brought a _kid_ in here?" He had a haggard look about him that made him look old beyond his years.

"Yes, he did!" Nico complained. "Put me _down_, you mugger! I'll have you for kidnapping and anything else I can think of!" With a sudden heave, he found himself thrown into a chair, and he winced again, grabbing his side. It looked like he was now in the kitchen of this place.

A woman with curly red hair gasped, rushing to his side in a motherly fashion. Nico reeled back. He didn't want a mother, he told himself. "Is that blood? Moody, what happened?"

"He was attacked by something," Moody said. "It looked like a giant dog when it came after us, but it heard him and went after him instead." Nico's guess had been correct, then. They were lucky he'd been there. They could have died, the stupid mortals. "Somehow, he killed it, and it vanished in a big puff of dust."

Nico huffed indignantly. "Somehow? I'm not _that_ weak," he muttered.

The woman drew a stick like Moody and the woman had. "Well, let me just fix those up for you, dear," she said, but Nico was suddenly scooting away from her. Something inside of him told him that those things were really bad news. He did _not_ want it touching him, thank you very much.

"Absolutely not," he snapped. "After a good night's sleep, I'll be _fine_." Well, after a good night's sleep, some shadow traveling home, and enough ambrosia and nectar to OD, that was. "I'll stick to bandaids for now, thank you very much."

She scoffed in a condescending way. "Don't be ridiculous," she said. "It won't hurt in the slightest. Those wounds need tending in a bad way." She aimed the stick right at his side and muttered something he didn't catch.

Nico clutched his side and reeled over, howling in pain. It was worse than the whole hellhound attack in the first place. He'd almost take bleeding out to death instead of this. His wound was now shooting black sparks and smoking. Nico lay prone on the floor for a few seconds as the three adults and the dog stood over him in shocked silence.

"I'm so sorry," she cried finally. "That's _never_ happened in all my life."

He gave her a look full of hatred, which was about all he could manage from his awkward position on the ground. "Thanks for nothing. I'll pass on any other treatment."

"How about some old fashioned bandages?" the sickly man suggested, waving a stick of his own. A roll of bandages and some gauze appeared out of nowhere. "You'll have to take off your shirt, I'm afraid."

Nico gave him a disgusted look. "No." It wasn't just because of his extreme distrust of these people this time. There were other things on his body that he didn't want them to see. Like scars. Other hellhounds that had gotten away with more. Sadistic campers who thought it was fun to cut him up a little in training. With his luck, they'd probably try the same trick on his old wounds and just make him worse. He swayed a little as he was forced to a sitting position by Moody. Now he was dizzy from blood loss. Great.

"You can take it off or one of us will do it for you," Moody growled. Reluctantly, he pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it onto the floor. The woman gasped but tried to hide it by coughing. The man's eyebrows shot up. The only person who looked unsurprised was Moody. He nodded at the bandages and the sickly man. "Well, now that that's taken care of. Get him something to eat and a shower. I have to get back to the Ministry." Moody swept out of the room, the woman hurrying after to show him out.

Nico scowled at the man as he began cleaning off his cuts. "I'm Lupin, by the way," he said with a wolfish grin. Nico was reminded vaguely of a homeless guy he once knew... but Nico couldn't remember anymore. Thanks, River of Lethe, he scowled darkly.

"Good for you," Nico snapped, hissing in his breath sharply as a bandage rubbed against his open wounds. "Also, ow."

"Sorry 'bout that," Lupin said pleasantly. The dog sat down next to him, thumping its tail eagerly. "The dog's Padfoot."

Nico absentmindedly scratched the dog's ears. "I used to have a dog," he said. It was a lot bigger, he thought, remembering Mrs. O'Leary's way of using squeaky toys as big as him and hula hoops as frisbees.

"So what's your name?" Lupin asked, finishing with his torso and starting to disinfect his arm.

Nico shot him an angry look. "I don't want to tell you," he said, feeling like a petulant child. "I'm still mad at you for kidnapping me."

Lupin didn't say anything else for awhile, and Nico knew then it was official. He couldn't go home. If he had been allowed to, he would have been quickly assured he could leave whenever. And yet he hadn't. So a prisoner, then. Not like it mattered, as once he had his energy back up, he could just shadow travel away. "Not for long," Lupin assured him, but it was a lame consolation. "And you won't be treated poorly. Molly has wonderful cooking."

Nico hated being trapped places. It reminded him too much of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. And he had already spent enough time trapped there.

"Want soup?" Lupin offered, pointing towards a bowl on the counter. "Molly makes a great stew." Molly must have been the woman who had lit his wounds on fire.

"I hate soup," he said, even as his stomach grumbled furiously. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, as he had no English money to buy lunch after he shadow traveled. Lupin laughed and put the bowl in front of him. Nico noted how tired he looked, and felt a little guilty. Then he reminded himself he had been kidnapped. He dug into the cool broth, a little disappointed. Nico had hoped for something hot to eat that night, not some nasty leftovers that had frozen. Then again, beggars couldn't be choosers, and he had really been planning to go hungry until tomorrow. This was better than the alternative. He reluctantly had to admit it was delicious, even cold. As he watched, Lupin resumed whisking dishes up with a flick of his stick and moving them into the sink.

Nico pressed his face into his palm. He had to figure out what was going on here. They kept doing things casually that made them look like children of Hecate, but they didn't know what a hellhound was, obviously, and he was pretty well known as the son of Hades. Especially after the war last year. Then again, being well known hadn't made anyone treat him better, he reminded himself miserably, tracing an X shaped scar over his heart. And it was London. He didn't know of any British demigods. Which left him at square one. Who were these people? Normally, he would jump right in and demand answers, but at this point he just wanted to go home. Or bed. Bed was sounding pretty good, too.

"Want a shower?" Lupin offered. Nico shrugged and winced simultaneously.

"I'm kind of tired. Some place I can crash?" he asked.

Lupin shrugged. "You can sleep in Sirius's room, I guess."

Nico grabbed his shirt off the floor. "Who's that?" he asked, pulling the bloody rag over his head.

Lupin smiled secretively. "He owns the house, but he finally got to go out tonight. Padfoot is his dog."

"Seems like a pretty sucky place to live," Nico muttered to Padfoot. "I don't envy you, that's for sure."

Padfoot whined softly in agreement.

Lupin led him up a rickety flight of stairs that were desperately in need of a good dusting, Nico noted. He spotted a door that looked suspiciously like an exit when he stood on the first landing. The man pushed open a door on the third floor and walked in, lighting candles with the tip of his stick. Gods, this was confusing Nico. He convinced himself that it was just a weird half asleep dream state thing.

Sirius had simple tastes, Nico thought. But it was nice. A plain black bedspread, a couple pictures on the walls of people Nico didn't recognize. They looked like they were moving, but Nico rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was more tired than he thought. On the dresser, there were all sorts of odd knick knacks that Nico would have picked through had he the time or energy. His eyes were drawn to the pillow.

"Sorry, Sirius hasn't done laundry in awhile," Lupin chuckled, waving his stick. The bed sheets tore themselves off and replaced themselves with cleaner ones. The man caught the dirty ones in his arms and smiled at the bed. "See you in the morning."

Padfoot bounded forwards and jumped on the foot of the bed as Lupin clicked the door shut. Nico fell into the bed eagerly. By the time his eyes closed, he was fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Sirius wriggled his dog form up next to the boy, who's sleeping arm found their way around him. His pale fingers twisted into Sirius' fur. The boy was awfully thin and cold, Sirius noticed with a touch of concern. He wasn't at all pleased by this. Sirius felt bad for the boy- he hadn't wanted to come here in the first place, but now because he had seen headquarters, he wasn't allowed to leave. It wasn't safe. Sirius knew the feeling of being imprisoned somewhere that was falsely warm. Somehow, he found an odd kinsmanship with this strange boy. What he had said back in the house... <em>Nobody wanted you, either?<em> The boy was so lonely. He wondered if anyone had even noticed he wasn't in bed that night. For some reason, he doubted it. His eyes had had a flat, empty glaze of someone who had long ago given up. It was a look he remembered well from Azkaban, and some days he saw it reflected back at him in the mirror. Especially lately. He wanted nothing more than to go out and be in the sun, but even simple things such as that were denied him. Because of a crime he didn't commit.

Sirius sighed, letting out a low _woof_. The boy's fingers clamped down on him, pulling him close. He felt the beginnings of a trembling sob vibrate in the boy's chest. Sirius wondered why this boy was so sad. For him, it was like looking at himself growing up again. This house only accepted you if you were exactly the same as everyone else in it. He had been the sole Gryffindor, the one who wouldn't be a Death Eater, the one who got his name stubbed out on the family tree. He was the one who never fit in. And Sirius could see the boy felt the same way. Maybe it was a link between two outcasts, or maybe it was just a strange fatherly impulse he had only felt for Harry before.

He wanted to help the boy. But he wondered, recalling the abnormal scarring all over his body, almost deliberate scarring, if the boy would accept his help.

* * *

><p>AN Hey! Thanks for reading! At least, I assume that if you made it here, you probably read this! This is my first fanfiction that I've allowed to see the light of day. I know how it's going to end roughly, and I promise that I won't discontinue or never update again. Anyways, I know it's not too good, but if you leave me a review, I can hopefully improve my writing from here on out. It would mean a lot to me to know how I'm doing! See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Nico woke up in the unfamiliar room and started as the night's events came crashing back to him. The spot that he had been sure Padfoot was occupying the night before was empty and stone cold. So the dog had left him, too. Nico turned his face to the wall and bit his lip. He squeezed his eyes shut. Fine. He wanted to go home, and he couldn't exactly bring the dog with him. Besides, all animals eventually realized... what he was and they wisely feared him. It stung that he couldn't go near the pegasi at camp because they would shy away from him. After trying to let them get used to it over time, and then getting kicked squarely in the chest when he came within arm's reach, Nico gave up on them.

He had thought that having a pet would ease the loneliness, but even animals couldn't stand him. In a way, he was glad Padfoot was gone, now there would be no crushing despair later when it growled at his hands or whimpered when he entered the room. It was time for Nico to leave, anyways. What was he doing, acting like he'd be here long enough for the animal to betray him?

The door swung open, and Nico glanced up. Lupin had come into the room, smiling and holding a change of clothes. The outfit in his arms was an ugly brown sweater and a pair of jeans that Nico would never have worn. He tried not to roll his eyes. In front of him, Padfoot padded towards him, his nails clicking on the wood floor. Nico's eyes widened in wonder as the dog put his chin in his lap. Cautiously, he patted the dog's head. "You didn't leave," he said in an awed tone.

Lupin laughed. Nico looked up at him, confused. What was so funny? "I think Padfoot's taken a real liking to you," he said, staring right at the dog. Nico started to smile, but he clamped down on the emotion and twisted his grin into a dark frown.

"Whatever," he said, standing up. "I want to leave now."

Lupin's easy expression faded a little bit. "Well... unfortunately, we can't really... This building is a very well kept secret," he explained, looking exactly like a teacher. Nico rolled his eyes. He hated school. "If it got out, there could be disastrous results. Most of the people in this building would at the very least lose their jobs, at worst, be sent to jail. I can think of a few who would be killed on the spot," he added, his eyes shifting to Padfoot, who lowered his head sulkily. Nico glanced down at the dog. What the heck? What kind of twisted society kills dogs? Lupin was acting like he was a gullible five year old, who'd do anything to protect their pets. Well, he wasn't. He was thirteen this summer, and he'd been through war, and been fighting for his life routinely since he was brought in by Percy.

Nico folded his arms furiously. "And if I just left? I don't need your permission," he snapped.

"I think you'll find that Disapparating won't work for anything other than traveling inside the house," Lupin said apologetically. "We have charms on the house to keep it safe from anyone Apparating in or out." Nico's jaw dropped. He didn't know what Disapparating, but he was pretty sure it was a lot like shadow traveling. And shadow traveling worked wherever there were shadows.

Narrowing his eyes, he stepped back into a dark corner of the room by the foot of the bed and tried to let the blanket of darkness envelop him. Relief washed through him as he vanished, but his target landing of the sidewalk outside the house failed. As Nico was flying through the darkness, he felt like he hit a wall and was thrown back out. He landed in a heap on the bed and sat up, swearing and spitting a string of words that would have made an Ares kid blush.

Lupin was watching him with an interested expression. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?" he said, but he was staring at the corner Nico had vanished from. It had started to work, he was sure. So why hadn't he been able to get out?

"She's dead," Nico snapped in his fury, before continuing his rant.

Lupin paused. "I'm sorry," he said. Then he pressed on, "What kind of traveling was that?" Lupin asked. "It's nothing like the Apparating I've seen."

Nico sneered, "Wouldn't you like to know," and made a rude gesture at him. Lupin didn't seem taken back in the slightest.

"Once you've calmed down a bit, come down for breakfast and take a shower," Lupin said. "You may not be able to leave, but there's plenty of hot water and scones."

He closed the door behind him softly, and Nico was irritated that he hadn't even upset this infuriatingly calm man. Padfoot scratched at the door and let out a whine. "Oh, get out," Nico told him, stomping over to tear open the door for him. "You're just like everyone else. Go away."

Padfoot paused mid trot, glancing back at Nico, who had sat down on the bed and was starting to unwrap his bandages carefully. He had to see how bad they were. If things were looking really grim, he'd just have to get out of there while he still could shadow travel home. He would need ambrosia, or nectar. Infection from a hellhound just wasn't something a normal body could fight off. He'd need godly assistance. More specifically, nectar and ambrosia.

Carefully, he examined the cut. It was puffy and red, which was rarely a good sign. Nico poked it, and hissed, regretting the choice as his arm burned in pain. At this point, it was still possible he could fight off the infection alone, as it hadn't progressed to a dangerous stage. Still, he hated the thought of being out of action for a few days, especially when he was in an unfamiliar, hostile place. And what if the injury did get worse? By then he wouldn't be able to shadow travel home to get help, even if he could leave. Nico didn't know what to do. If only there was a way to contact someone, to get them to bring him ambrosia, or even to rescue him... And even if he did contact them, would they help? Or would they just let Nico down again?

He thought of all the people he knew who would be likely to help him. The list was short. There was Thalia, who might help out of guilt over not protecting Bianca better, but if she had a responsibility to the Hunters, it would take precedence over his life. She was no good, too unreliable. Mrs. Jackson would try as well, since she treated him like a charity case, but he didn't know how much she could do, being a mortal. A very nice mortal, who made delicious snacks, but a mortal nonetheless. There was Percy, he supposed, but he wondered if Percy would even come to him after he had run out on him? After all, the whole reason he was in London was because he had been mad at Percy. Would Percy be angry, too? Would he refuse to take the Iris Message?

Nico considered. He would have to take the risk, he decided, as his stomach let out a particularly painful throb. That one was infected worse, Nico was sure, but he didn't want to look at it. Pus kind of freaked him out.

A shower, then, was in order. "You know where the shower is, boy?" he asked Padfoot, who had settled onto the floor. He was vaguely pleased that the dog had decided to stay with him instead of following a friend. The dog jumped up and wagged its tail, trotting towards the door. "Wait," he added, grabbing his jacket off the floor, the one that had been chewed up by the hellhound. He didn't remember bringing it upstairs, and had thought he left it in the kitchen after he had taken off his shirt. The dog must have brought it to him. No, he wouldn't let himself think Padfoot was fond of him.

Nico plunged his hand into one of the pockets and got a handful of lint in return. Other pocket, then. There he found about five drachmas. Relief swept through him and he pulled one out, flipping it in the air with his thumb. "Okay, I'm ready," he said, turning back to Padfoot. Padfoot eyed the coin suspiciously as he stuck it in his pocket, but he led Nico down the creaky old hall. On the floor below him, he could hear people moving around and talking. It sounded like there were other kids his age, which annoyed Nico. He hated new people.

The dog nosed open a door on the left at the end of the hallway. It was a relatively clean bathroom, although there was mold on the walls and the shower, which was a clawfoot tub with a shower head on it, was growing gray and green patches in places. A cobweb dangled in the corner. Over the sink, a filthy mirror was hung, but someone had broken it and it was now fractured. Broken shards covered the whole counter. It was positively disgusting and creepy.

Nico grinned. "Cool." He stepped in, grabbing a towel that smelled like mothballs off a stack in the corner. He shook it out and a cloud of dust filled the air. Padfoot growled and sneezed. Nico crouched down and patted his head. "Don't let anybody in, boy," he told him. "I'll be done soon." Then he closed the door and turned on the hot water full blast. He was always cold, it seemed. After all, he was sort of like a corpse. It came with being the kid of a death god. Also, he needed to generate lots of steam as fast as possible. Hopefully, the light in the room would make a rainbow close enough Iris would accept it. Nico tossed his shirt inside the shower. Hopefully the blood hadn't ruined the shirt too much, he rather liked it. It was from a concert he had shadow traveled into once. Places like that were full of freaks, and he kind of liked fitting in for once. He hopped in and washed all of the blood off him first. There was a bar of soap that was rough and grimy, but he rubbed it dutifully all over him. Then Nico stuck his head under the water and rubbed the soap through that, too. He knew it wasn't very good for his hair, but at least it got all the blood out. And he wasn't exactly the vainest guy around, either. As long as it didn't bother him, he was fine. He scrubbed the bar of soap on the shirt, too, but the blood had set in good and he just made the stain look vaguely lighter. Maybe Mrs. Jackson knew some good stain removal tips once he got home. Nico glanced at the water running down the drain. It was pale red and tinged brown. That was a little gross, Nico thought. The house he had stayed in last night must have been really dusty for him to be that dirty after only a forty five minute nap.

He peered out into the bathroom, which was now mostly fogged up with steam. Pleased, Nico hopped out and put on his pants, and then tossed the drachma through the cloud. "O goddess, accept my offering," he said. "Show me Percy Jackson, Camp Halfblood." Crossing his fingers, Nico waited. Apparently, Iris decided that it was close enough to being a rainbow and the cloud shimmered as the connection was made.

Percy's face zoomed into view. He was in his cabin, sleeping. Great, now Nico had to wake him up. Every second of his precious time counted here. "Percy," he hissed. "Get _up_!" Percy snorted and flopped over in his sleep so that he was facing the Iris Message. Nico glared furiously and tried to keep his voice quiet as he snarled, "Percy, it's Nico!"

His eyes snapped open. "Nico!" he cried. "Where are you? What happened? We thought you'd be home by now."

"I thought so, too," Nico said, reproachfully. "Look, I've sort of been kidnapped, and I don't know why, but I can't shadow travel while I'm in this house."

Percy's brow furrowed. "What? But you can travel anywhere there are shadows."

"I can travel around the house, but if I aim for a spot outside the building, it fails," Nico said. "That's not as important as what I need you to do, though. Before I was kidnapped, I was attacked by a hellhound. These people aren't demigods, and they don't know how to treat it. It's infected."

His eyes narrowed angrily. Nico wondered if he was about to break the connection with him. Would Percy even want to help him? He should have apologized for running away first, to try and keep Percy from being angry. "Where are you, Nico?" he demanded. "I'm coming to get you out of there."

Nico held back a smile. It seemed like Percy was going to help him after all. "I'm not sure. I traveled to London, and they took me out of Number 11, Grimmauld Place. But aside from that, I can't be sure. Numbers 11 and 13 both looked empty and deserted, but this house is full of people and furniture. Even though it looked like they just went through the wall," he added, confused. Thinking about it made his brain hurt.

"I'll start there, then," Percy said, jumping up. His torso was suddenly the only thing visible in the mist as he began to move around the room. "I'll bring you ambrosia and nectar."

Nico nodded. The connection was still strong, he had a few more minutes, but he could hear footsteps on the stairs. "I have to go," he said, his eyes watching the door.

"See you soon," Percy said, ducking his face back down. "Mrs. O'Leary will give me a ride."

"Percy," Nico said, grabbing the towel to whip through the IM. "Thanks." He snapped the towel through the steam and Percy's face vanished.

Just as he did, the door swung open and Moody burst through, followed by a man he hadn't seen before. The man had greasy black hair that framed a sallow face, but his face had a pleasant grin to it. Even though right then, his face was annoyed. "Honestly, Mad Eye," the man protested. "The boy's showering." Nico scrambled to pull his shirt over his head, not wanting to advertise his scars. It had was soaking wet and freezing against his skin. He had kept his torso out of the Iris Message, so Percy hadn't seen him, but he didn't have the ability to hide it like that now.

Nico stared at Moody, who whacked the ground with a cane. "I saw him up here, he was talking to someone!" Moody declared, and he grabbed Nico's shirt. He yanked up so that Nico's feet were about an inch off the floor. Nico started kicking desperately, but he wasn't reaching him. "Who did you contact, boy?" he demanded, twisting Nico's collar, hard. He opened his mouth to lie, but instead he let out a long rasping gurgle from lack of air.

The man stepped forward and put a hand on Moody's shoulder. "You were looking through three floors of people. You probably made a mistake. Besides, how would he have contacted anyone?"

Moody slowly let go of the shirt, and Nico slid back against the wall, gulping in big lungfuls of oxygen. He reached his hand to where his knife should have been concealed in his jacket, but he had left it in his room. Silently cursing his foolishness, Nico groped behind him for a weapon as Moody stared furiously down at him. "I know you're lying, boy," he growled in a menacing tone. Nico's hand closed around something sharp. He whipped it out in front of him. The object turned out to be a piece of the bathroom mirror.

"Stay back," he threatened, although Nico knew if it came to blows he would come out on the losing end. Still, he could probably cut up at least one of them pretty good.

"Really, now," the other man blustered, "I don't think it has to come to this..." but Moody drew a thin stick from the inside of his coat pocket and aimed it at Nico.

"Expelliarmus," he snarled, and Nico instinctively ducked. Unfortunately, whatever it was was not aimed at his head, and the shard of mirror flew out of his hand, leaving a long gash in its wake. "Now, it's Nico, correct?"

Nico blinked. How did they...?

He hefted Nico's aviator's jacket in his other hand. "It's written in the tag of your jacket. So I take it that's right?"

He cursed inwardly. Percy had advised that he write his name in all of his clothing in case it was lost or, more likely, stolen. In a rare moment of weakness, Nico had foolishly listened to him and now it had come back to bite him. But right now, Nico was not experiencing one of those moments. He lifted his chin defiantly. "Yeah, what if it is?" he asked.

Moody grabbed his shoulder and started steering him downstairs, ranting all the way about something Nico didn't care about. Instead, Nico glared at his shoes and rubbed his aching arm. It was not better after the shower. If anything, he was now much stiffer there. His torso was throbbing every time he took a step, which was pretty distracting. Not to mention that his hand was now gushing blood. It had not been an easy few days on his body. He should really see about going for a swim in the Styx if he was going to keep being this accident prone. In fact, Nico was totally zoned out of the conversation until they hit the bottom step and Moody demanded, "And what about these odd coins? Answer me, boy, don't just stand there! Do you use them to contact other Death Eaters?"

"What is a Death Eater?" Nico snapped, glancing over his shoulder. Moody had gone through his pockets and hauled out a golden drachma, which gleamed brightly in the dim candlelight.

"Agents of the Dark Lord," the other man explained. Nico gave him a confused look, although he wondered if the 'Dark Lord' they were talking about was, in fact, Lord Hades. Because, if so, he was so screwed, as it sounded like these people were not fans of Old Dad. Not that he was surprised, Dad had stepped on quite a few toes in his time. Then again, they didn't know what a drachma was, or a hellhound. "See, Moody, he doesn't even know who the Dark Lord is. He's just an unfortunate Muggle who got a little lost. We should Obliviate him and send him on his way."

Nico bristled at the mention of 'obliviating' him. Whatever it was, he did _not_ want it happening to him.

Moody grunted. "All it proves, Sirius, is that he's a particularly accomplished liar. We need Severus to use Occlumency." So that was Sirius, Nico thought. Had he not been so angry, he would have taken a moment to see if he was anything like his awesome dog. But Nico was absolutely pissed.

"What is the big deal?" Nico cried, frustrated. He clenched his good hand into a fist. "All I did was try and sleep in some stranger's house!"

Moody gave him a withering glare that made Nico feel like a little boy again. He knew he shouldn't be afraid of one old man, after all he had been through, but he was totally intimidated. If he had boots, he would have been shaking in them. "The 'deal', kid," he said gruffly, "is that those two neighboring houses are property of the Black family. They're both enchanted to keep anyone who can't find the main house out. I was willing to accept that maybe one of the charms had failed and you had gotten in on your own. But I checked when we went in, and they're all fine." Moody fixed him with his false eye, which swiveled in its socket and rolled around, but it didn't look away from him. "Which means you obviously got past them somehow, and not accidentally. You're no Muggle. Although you have no wand and you don't act like one of us."

Nico glanced down at his cut palm. Enchantments? So they were children of Hecate. But something was off. They didn't act like demigods at all. "So tell me... Who exactly is 'us'?" he asked.

Moody and Sirius glanced at each other. "Wizards," Sirius said casually. So casually that Nico wasn't sure if he was kidding or not.

"You're not serious?" Nico tried not to smirk at them. Sure, they were wizards. And he was Santa Claus. What were these people on?

"Yep," Sirius replied. "See?" He lazily drew out his stick and flicked it. "_Accio bandages_." The roll of bandages Lupin had given him last night zoomed into the room and landed in his hand. Sirius tossed them into Nico's lap. Nico began treating his hand as he pondered the situation.

Nico considered the options. Either they were all off their rockers, which didn't seem likely after that last demonstration, or Hecate had given a blessing to someone a long time ago and it had become hereditary. It really seemed more plausible. After all, it would explain his inability to shadow travel. Hecate could easily put a block on things like that. "I guess I can accept that," he said finally.

Moody tossed the drachma on the table. "And what about you, boy? What are you?"

He wasn't really sure if they would believe him. And he wasn't sure he wanted to try telling them, either. Ridicule at the hands of another was not his favorite thing ever. It wasn't like he was trying to fit in with them—he already knew he didn't. But he didn't want to invite their humiliating taunts. "If I tell you, can I leave?"

Moody and Sirius exchanged skeptical looks, although Sirius had a much more pleading expression on. "We'll decide that tonight at our meeting," Moody snapped.

"They I'll tell you tonight," Nico retorted, folding his arms. Then he winced when he touched the puffy red area on his arm. He glanced down at it. It was angry red, but hadn't started spewing pus or anything nasty like that yet.

Sirius crouched down and peered at the injury. "Say, we should really have that taken care of," he said, drawing out a stick—no, wand, Nico supposed. After all, if they were wizards, they would have wands, no? Nico pulled his arm back quickly.

"Uh, no," he said. "Me plus magic equals pain, as we learned before with the flaming black sparks. I'll take the pus, thank you very much." He wondered why he reacted so badly to it if it was really just Hecate blessings. Maybe Hecate just hated him, too. Wouldn't be the first person out there.

"Maybe Muggle treatments," Sirius suggested, turning back to Moody. "We can't just let his arm rot, Moody. It'd be our fault."

Moody rubbed his chin thoughtfully, but said nothing.

"I could go out... Nobody would see me, I promise," he pleaded. "Just twenty minutes... there's a Muggle pharmacy only four blocks down."

He shook his head and Sirius' hopeful face fell. "You know it's not safe, Sirius. I'll send Tonks to pick some up as she leaves her shift tonight. I'd better get to work."

As Moody swept out of the room, Nico realized for the first time that maybe he wasn't the only one trapped in this house.

Sirius was facing away from him, his shoulders tight and clenched up around his ears. "Hey, Sirius?" Nico asked. "What was _that_ all about?"

Sirius whipped around his head, lightning fast with a menacing glare. "Nothing!" he shouted angrily. "Absolutely nothing!" His eyes were wild and sparkling dangerously, like he was slightly unhinged.

Nico recoiled in shock. He had only known this man for a few minutes, but this was so frighteningly different than everything he had witnessed before. He took a few quick steps back.

Sirius had begun to storm away. Over his shoulder, he yelled, "Just go to your room!"

That was the wrong thing to say.

Nico narrowed his black eyes. The room that he had been forced to take? Who was this man to boss him around? What, like he was a father? Nico knew enough about having fathers who only wanted to use you when it was convenient. The lights started to flicker overhead, but Nico didn't stop his internal rant. His anger was only getting worse. Did he ask for this? No. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be _anywhere_. Why was it that everywhere he went, everyone looked down on him?

Nico was _so_ sick of it.

He kicked over a chair and snatched his jacket off the table, stomping past Sirius on the stairs. Behind him, he heard Sirius pause and start to say something, but Nico glanced over his shoulder and fixed him with the most vile look imaginable.

He knew it was a trait of the children of Hades—heck, it was a trait of most things Underworld to give off an aura that spread fear and radiated death. Nico knew that most of the time, he kept it well hidden but still there, and it was why he had such difficulties making friends. Now he let out all of the evil feelings that spread around him, contaminating the air with their vile emotions. Sirius's face changed slowly from a slightly apologetic and tired one to a horrified, glassy expression. He robotically turned and walked back down the stairs.

Then Nico went up into his room. Padfoot didn't come find him.

* * *

><p>AN: Chapter two! Sorry it took me awhile to put this one on, I just couldn't decide how I wanted this one to go, and I kept rewriting everything until I finally got fed up and I just wrote out the story line up to the end. It took a bit longer than expected because I had an action packed weekend! I went to a concert, where I kinda fainted from hunger in the mosh pit and had to be crowd surfed to safety!

Thanks for the reviews, it's great to hear what you think! Please continue reviewing and giving me your opinion on how the story is going, because nothing is set in stone yet and I can still change things if I'm doing this all wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy stood on the cracked sidewalk and looked up at Number 11 Grimmauld Place. Next to him, Mrs. O'Leary woofed tiredly, which was a bit of problem as her barks made the ground vibrate. The ten foot dog was a bit suspicious, he thought, and he needed to get her somewhere she could sleep. But that wasn't his main priority. Nico had _been_ here, he knew. Somewhere near him, his cousin was being imprisoned. The very thought of it made him angry. How could anyone do that to Nico? He was just a kid!

A kid with a lot of trust issues, Percy might add, and likely this situation wasn't helping a whole lot with that. He could imagine Nico shutting down completely, not talking to anyone. Sadly, it was a fairly believable thought, as the kid hardly ever tried to make nice with anyone. He had been impressed when he got the Iris Message from him. If Nico was actually going to the trouble of connecting with someone, then he must be in trouble. To him, it seemed like Nico just didn't want anything to do with people. The kid was a walking example of 'once bitten, twice shy'. After Bianca died, he just clammed up around others.

Percy walked up to the door and shook the knob. It was, predictably, locked. Of course. He tried kicking the door a few times, but it showed no signs of giving in. Percy squinted. Was there something else keeping him out? As far as strength went, he was stronger than most after the whole Styx ordeal, and he hadn't expected that a pathetic door like this would keep him out.

He glanced up and down the road, which was luckily deserted, and then took out his trusty ballpoint pen. The nice part about having it look like a pen was that it didn't raise too many questions at airport security or when he had to go into schools or anything. Although he always looked like a douche when people asked to borrow it and he had to give them some lame excuse.

Uncapping it, Percy tried to keep the glowing bronze sword low and out of sight as he slashed through the door's hinges so that it swung in with one easy kick. Grinning to himself, he stepped into the grimy house and studied his handiwork. It looked like he could just put the door back up and it wouldn't look too suspicious that someone had forced their way in. Percy picked it back up and propped it into place, but he wasn't too concerned. With the house in a state like this, a door could easily blow down any day.

Mrs. O'Leary lumbered through, knocking the door down again and busting the frame of the door so that it looked like someone had run a tank through it.

Well, maybe that was a bit suspicious. Percy groaned, but there was nothing he could do about it. Should he contact Nico now, then? As Mrs. O'Leary settled in the kitchen for a good nap, he fingered a golden drachma. No, he didn't know if Nico was alone, and he could get him in more trouble by letting his captors know that he had contacted someone. He'd have to find him without inside help.

Percy started examining the floor for signs of life. The whole place was covered in dust, and he could see his and Mrs. O'Leary's recent prints. Mrs. O'Leary had made giant clouds of dust with each footstep, and she was now sneezing contentedly in her sleep. Even though her breathing was creating small tornadoes on the floor, she hadn't disturbed the footprints that littered the ground.

Percy swung off his backpack and dropped it with a thud next to Mrs. O'Leary, who didn't stir. In it was all of the stuff he'd brought for Nico, but he if he was going to run into a monster, it would be a tad inconvenient to have it over his shoulder. Instead, he followed after the prints as they wandered upstairs and ended, seeming to walk straight through a wall.

Confused, Percy extended a hand to touch the slightly damp and disgusting boards. Even for demigods, going through solid objects was just plain odd. Cautiously, he applied weight to the wall, but it didn't seem to give in the slightest, no matter how rotted they looked... and smelled. Percy wrinkled his nose.

Anyways, he'd need to get through the wall. If it was decayed as much as it seemed to be, it wouldn't be a big deal, and he'd be able to bust through in a matter of minutes. Percy took a step back and gave the wall a good, firm kick, one that had knocked many a demigod off their feet last summer. To his surprise, it didn't budge. "What the Hades?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. Then he started pounding it with his fists. "Fall down already!"

After about five minutes, Percy decided the wall was taunting him. It had a smug little aura around it, like it was making fun of him. That was it. He growled and uncapped Riptide. This wall was about to taste celestial bronze.

Behind him, someone gasped.

Percy spun around, his sword at the ready. A pink haired girl, who was probably only two or three years older than him and wearing what looked like a long, black bathrobe, had a stick aimed at his face. "Who are _you_?" she demanded, in a decidedly British accent.

"I could ask the same thing," he said, lowering the tip of the blade at her chest. It wouldn't hurt her unless she was a monster, and it wasn't like he intended to actually stab an innocent bystander. "You wouldn't have seen my cousin, would you?"

That gave her pause. "Nico is your cousin? Not much family resemblance there," she said, grinning cheerfully. That wasn't totally true. They both had black hair. Of course, Nico had a vaguely Italian presence about him and pitch black eyes. "Sorry, but you're not getting in. Those walls are protected by... well, they're stronger than they look," she conceded.

Percy narrowed his eyes. "As you've probably noticed, my cousin is sick, and he needs some serious medical treatment. I need to get him medicine."

"Yes, yes, I picked up the Muggle treatments from the pharmacy," she said, waving the hand that was still holding the stick. "He'll be fine in the morning. _Stupefy_!"

Percy was shocked as the wand shot a jet of red light straight at him. So shocked that he didn't even move out of the way. The light hit him dead center in the chest and bounced off, rocketing out the broken window. "What was that?" Percy asked, flabbergasted. "What was it supposed to do?"

The girl anxiously glanced at him, and then at the broken window that the light had flown out. "Blimey, but you're an odd one," she said, lifting the stick back up. "_Stupefy! Obliviate! Levicorpus!_" Similar jets flew at him, but they all bounced off of his skin. Percy was suddenly very relieved he had taken a dip in the Styx, suspecting that all sorts of bad things would be happening had he not. She dodged the last one as it rebounded off his nose. Percy let out an uneasy laugh.

Then he noticed what was in her other hand. A backpack. A very familiar orange backpack from Camp Halfblood. "Hey!" he blurted out without thinking. "That's _mine_!"

She looked down at the bag. "I rather reckoned it," the girl said. "That's why I picked it up. Nice pet, by the way. What does it _eat_?"

So she had seen Mrs. O'Leary. Lucky the dog hadn't woken up and eaten her, he'd have felt horrible. "Dry dog food, like most dogs, but we get it by the truck load," Percy explained. "Mrs. O'Leary is pretty friendly. If you weren't trying to obliterate me, I might even let you pet her."

The girl shrugged the backpack over her shoulder. "Obliviate, which really is just a short memory modification. Completely painless."

Percy was getting more and more frustrated. He wanted to use Riptide to slash a hole through the wall and rescue Nico then and there, but he was still wary of showing his back to her. His weak spot was more vulnerable than he liked. Plus, he wasn't totally sure about.

"Look," he said. "Muggle treatments really won't help in this situation. In that backpack there's a plastic bag and an orange canteen. Give them to Nico, they'll help."

"Wotcher, you're a serious one," she said, her hair fading from pink to purple rapidly. Percy blinked. Had he just seen that? "Why don't we strike a deal?"

Percy distractedly asked, "What kind of deal?"

She kept the wand pointed at him, even though Percy thought the point was kind of moot—she couldn't hit him anyways, why bother? "I'll take Nico this backpack. Get him past the infection. Bu-ut," she added, and Percy's face darkened. There was always a catch. Why did there always have to be a catch? "You're going to leave this place and not come back."

"Ever?" Percy asked.

"Ever," the purple haired girl told him. "Not for a million years, at the very least. Don't worry, we'll send young Nico along before then."

Percy pretended to consider. "Or," he suggested, "I could just cut a hole in this wall, take you at sword point, rescue my cousin, and go home." He motioned to the stick. Percy wasn't taking any chances. Not when it came to Nico, his cousin. Sure, gods didn't have DNA and they weren't technically related by blood, but it didn't make him any less protective of the kid. "Drop it."

"I like my plan better," she said, before vanishing with a loud _CRACK_! Percy blinked and swung Riptide through the space where she had just been. She really was gone. What kind of weird teleportation was that? Loud and obvious, and nothing like the shadow traveling Nico used. And she had taken the backpack. Aside from the nectar and ambrosia, there was a change of clothes for Nico and a Happy Meal he had picked up in New York. It was probably still warm, but he wondered if Nico would ever get it now.

Frustrated, he turned back to the wall and swung Riptide at it. It rang against the wood like it was hitting steel, and Percy jumped in shock. The wall certainly looked wooden enough. He ran a hand over it, certain that if he wasn't invulnerable, he would have been covered in splinters. As it was, he wasn't willing to rub his back along the wall, just to find out. But the sound... it was metal.

Just who were these people?

* * *

><p>Nico was huddled in a ball under the blankets, eyes squeezed tight shut. It was freezing in this house suddenly. Only that morning, he had been complaining how hot it was. How had it changed so quickly? He shook all over, his teeth chattering together. Being a kid of Hades meant he was cold to other people, but normally he felt fine.<p>

On the floor, Padfoot let out a long whine. Nico opened his eyes and glared at the dog. He wasn't too happy with it, even if it was in the same room as him. The animal was curled up on the floor right next to the door, like it really didn't want to share a room with him but did so out of duty. What duty? Nico wanted to ask. He didn't want sympathy from a dog. It was downright pathetic.

The door swung open and a purple haired Tonks, as he had learned her name was, bounded in eagerly. "Wotcher, Nico, I've brought you something!"

In a flash, Sirius was standing next to her. Nico blinked his eyes. He must have been more feverish than he thought, because it looked like Padfoot had turned into him. Weird. "What is it?" Sirius asked curiously, and Tonks swung an orange backpack off her shoulder and groped around inside. Nico's eyes widened in surprise. Was that a... camp backpack?

"Just a little medicine from one of your friends," she said, winking at him with a cheeky grin. "Had to split from him, he won't be getting inside, but said there was some good stuff in here for you!" She grabbed a black canteen and unscrewed the top. "Yum... this smells good," Tonks added, taking a deep whiff. Her eyes glassed over and she brought it up to her lips.

"Don't," Nico said urgently, and she blinked, lowering it from her mouth. As Sirius and she stared at him, Nico realized he wasn't quite sure how to explain why she couldn't have any. "It's not for you."

"Well, that's a rather selfish view," Tonks said, sniffing indignantly, but she handed it over to him.

"You'll burn up from the inside," he told her as he took a big sip.

"I don't see you being reduced to a pile of ash," Tonks pointed out.

He screwed the cap back on and set it down. It tasted like blue birthday cake from Percy's party to him, and he licked his lips. His arm felt completely better now, and the pain in his side was more of a weak throb now opposed to the constant stab it had been before. As much as he wanted more, he didn't want to risk too much nectar, followed by death.

"It's only for dem-... people not like you," he said, lamely. "Mortals really shouldn't..." And then Nico was kicking himself. How had he said that? It was such a dumb mistake.

It didn't escape Sirius's notice, either. Sirius was still leaning against the door frame, while Tonks had sat down on the foot of his bed. "Mortals? You say that like you're not," he said sharply.

"Oh," Nico said, floundering. "Did I?"

Sirius's eyes narrowed. Why was Sirius suddenly so cold in regards to him? Then again, Nico shouldn't have been surprised, he'd dealt with plenty of falsely sweet people in the past. "Let's get it on the table, then. Are you with the dark lord?" he asked.

Unsure as how to answer that, as if they meant Hades Nico was _totally _with him, Nico instead busied himself with digging through the backpack. Percy had thoughtfully included a change of clothes. Geez, Percy sure thought of everything. He must have assumed when Nico mentioned being attacked by a hellhound that his clothes might be a bit tattered. Nico was glad he had decided to help him out this time. Even if they weren't friends, Percy could be a nice ally to have around. He was a little disappointed that he hadn't dropped in any more drachmas, as he had all his confiscated by Moody earlier.

Oh well, Percy had assumed that he'd be leaving with him and wouldn't need to call anybody before getting back to camp. Nico had mixed feelings about Percy. On one hand, he was grateful he was rescuing him, and pretty sure he would reliably help him. On the other end of things, Nico knew that Percy could always turn out to be just like everyone else, and trusting him too much was a bad idea. And a Happy Meal! Greedily, Nico took a big handful of fries and stuffed it in his mouth. Now that was thoughtful. He'd have to pay him back, of course. Being indebted to anyone was not Nico's thing.

Tonks jumped up. "I need to tell Moody about the boy outside!" she cried, in a voice that told Nico she wasn't just trying to escape the tense room. She really was just clueless about things, he decided. Not necessarily a bad person, though. "Say, you wouldn't know his name, would you, Nico?"

Nico snorted. "I wouldn't exactly tell you," he said coldly, and Tonks seemed suddenly aware of the atmosphere. Her hair slowly turned dark blue and her easy grin slipped away.

"Right, then," she said, glancing hopefully at the door. "Best be off." As she breezed out the door, Nico saw Sirius following her.

* * *

><p>Harry was surprised. For once, he, Ron, and Hermione had been allowed to stay at an Order meeting. Fred and George had also joined the group, although they were much less bewildered.<p>

"We were hearing everything you said on the Extendable Ears, anyways," Fred joked. "It was about time you let us in for real."

Mrs. Weasley gave her two sons a death glare and tightened her grip on her tea cup. She clearly had not been one of the ones in favor of this idea.

Also, joining them at the table was the mysterious dark haired boy, Nico di Angelo. He wasn't quite sure what the boy was doing there—they had pegged him as a security risk when they brought him in in the first place, so why he was being _invited_ to listen to the Order of the Phoenix's secret meetings was beyond him. He had traded his blood encrusted shirt for another one, but where he could have gotten it was beyond Harry. It was an American band, he assumed, but he had never heard of _Pierce the Veil_. Across the table from Nico sat another unpleasant face. Snape was joining them for a meeting. He was looking down his hooked nose in disgust, but Harry wasn't sure who he was glaring at harder—him or Sirius.

Sirius was equally uncomfortable tonight, it looked like. He was constantly glancing around, like a caged animal. It was the first time Harry had seen him so on edge since he'd come to Grimmauld Place that summer. He had a suspicious feeling that Nico had something to do with Sirius's odd behavior.

"So," Lupin said conversationally, "Nico, how's the arm?"

"Fine," Nico said, staring at the table. He folded his arms, obviously not interested in showing it off.

"Yes, I heard that someone came by to drop off medicine for you," he carried on. "Most curious how he found where we were, hm?"

Nico only grunted.

Lupin cleared his throat and carried on. "So, the Order of the Phoenix has gathered tonight to decide what to do about Nico. I personally feel he's a bigger threat to security by keeping him here than by letting him go. While supposedly being kept quiet, he managed to alert a friend to his location. That same friend is now relentlessly trying to break in."

"So he's the bloke pounding on the drawing room wall, then?" George asked, grinning lazily. "Bloody annoying fellow, isn't he? Nice friends you've got there."

"He's my cousin," Nico corrected, although Harry wasn't so sure what he was so touchy about. Cousin, friend... Then again, he was sure that he would make the same correction had someone called Dudley his friend. But Dudley wouldn't fly across a country and come hunt him down to rescue him, either.

"Either way," Lupin carried on, like nobody had interrupted him, "I think that as long as he doesn't know the address, he won't be able to let anyone in to Headquarters. We may as well let him go."

"So he can bring back more friends and knock down a wall?" Moody growled.

Nico's eyes darted over to Moody and he scowled. "If Percy's not able to knock down a wall, with Mrs. O'Leary's help, then I really doubt anybody I know could do it."

Tonks, who had bright orange hair that evening, asked, "Is Mrs. O'Leary the giant tank dog? Blimey, you Americans sure have odd pets," she added when he nodded.

"What makes Percy so able for the job?" Moody asked, suspiciously.

Nico hesitated too long. "He's just... stronger than the others," he said, but it was such an obvious lie that even he dropped his face to the table. Harry glanced at Hermione and Ron, who both had on skeptical expressions.

"Looked like a scrawny kid when I met him," Tonks said brightly.

"Yes, but you said all your spells bounced off him," Moody reminded her. An audible gasp escaped from Mrs. Weasley. "More than meets the eye."

Nico's head had come up when she said that, and he was now smirking. "Yes, I bet they would," he muttered to himself.

"You got an explanation for that, kid?" Moody demanded.

All eyes were on Nico, who said, "No, sir." His voice was dripping sarcasm. Harry was getting annoyed with the boy easily. "Clearly Percy's a freak of nature."

Moody drew his wand furiously, and around the table people began talking loudly.

"I say, I don't think that's really necessary!"

"For god's sake, Moody, put that away!"

"Let's all calm down!"

"I say the boy has it coming to him!"

"SIT DOWN!" thundered Mrs. Weasley. The room went deadly silent. "Very good. I personally feel that having the boy leave would be a major security risk. Some of us would be in more trouble than others were this place found. Isn't that right, Sirius," she said in a motherly tone that clearly wasn't a question. A tone Harry recognized from Aunt Petunia when she wanted Harry to make breakfast and it wasn't really an option.

Sirius glanced up from where he had been broodingly staring at the table and carving shapes into it with his fork. "Send the boy on his way, I say," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes. "The sooner the better."

Nico didn't meet anyone's eyes.

"You can't be serious!" spluttered Mrs. Weasley. "You could return to Azkaban! Is that what you want?"

Sirius became very still, and Mrs. Weasley seemed to realize she had overstepped her boundaries. She got up and began clearing plates from dinner to busy herself. Nico suddenly seemed very interested in the conversation, until it turned back to him.

"So are you with the dark lord?" Snape asked, his upper lip curling with disgust. He clearly was not enjoying his visit, and felt he had better things to do with his time. "Are you supporting him?"

Nico paused. "I feel like we're talking about two different dark lords here," he said cautiously. "Exactly who are you guys thinking of?"

Harry tried not to scoff at the kid. How could you _not_ know who Voldemort was? Then again, if he was a Muggle... but Harry had heard of him popping in and out of rooms without Apparating, and he had fought off the great big dog next door. Sirius had mentioned that while they were cleaning after lunch.

"Voldemort," Moody said, and Ron drew in his breath sharply. Nico's face remained puzzled, or maybe even relieved.

"Oh, thank the gods. I have absolutely _no_ idea who that is," he said, relaxing visibly. "No, I honestly don't know who your 'dark lord' is, and I am _not_ working for him." Harry noticed his interesting phrasing. 'Thank the gods', plural, was not a normal Muggle statement. Having been raised with the Dursleys, probably the most normal people out there, he was quite sure. Of course, it could be some strange American slang, but he doubted it. Then it would be on the American soaps that Aunt Petunia loved so dearly.

It didn't escape Lupin's notice, either. "'Gods'? If you don't mind me asking, just what religion are you?"

"I do mind you asking, thanks," Nico said, his face getting hard again.

"What dark lord were you thinking of?" Snape asked. "There is only one as far as I am aware." The sneer in his voice reminded Harry how much he hated him. He was picking on the kid, who even as much as he annoyed Harry, was still just a kid. He instantly sympathized with anyone Snape picked on, having been in those shoes himself.

Nico stubbornly shook his head. "I don't feel like answering that, either," he said.

"And didn't you say you'd tell us what you were tonight?" Moody reminded him.

Nico glared into Moody's eyes, which was especially difficult and brave. Harry could never meet those odd swiveling eyes for more than a few seconds. "I think I said after I found out what your plans for me were."

And after much discussion that didn't really go anywhere and bored Harry to death, they reached a conclusion. The twins had begun to yawn convincingly, as the clock had long since struck eleven, and was now working its way toward midnight. George's head was starting to bob towards his chest. Ron had continued eating the entire meeting, and thus kept himself awake, and Harry had entertained himself by drawing shapes in his head with the mold growing on the walls over the sink. It created a quite interesting pattern, he felt. Hermione, on the other hand, had remained rapt at attention.

Nico had payed attention the whole time for the most part, as they were discussing him, but he was wearing a bored expression and looked as if he felt the whole thing was far beneath him, and that they ought to hurry up and make a decision. Towards the end he had begun to stare blankly over Snape's shoulder.

"Right then," Mad Eye announced. Nico glanced at him, clearly looking like he had begun to tune them out. "It's decided." He began to stand up. Everyone except for Hermione who was under the age of seventeen snapped out of whatever daze they had fallen into and wondered what decision had been reached.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that," Nico said, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"You'll stay until the school term starts," Lupin said gently. "After that, our main security priority will have left," he said, flicking a glance to Harry, "and you'll be allowed to leave." Harry tried not to be embarrassed too badly. Still, it irked him that they considered him to be the greatest priority when they'd spent most of the summer keeping him in the dark at the Dursley's. Nico cut him a fearsome glare that said he obviously blamed him.

Nico's face had begun to darken dramatically, but he kept his tone conversational, although it was a bit clipped. "And how long is that?"

Lupin hesitated to tell him, but it looked like Moody had no such qualms. "A month."

"A _month_?" Nico exploded.

"And a half," Moody added, which did not help Nico.

"You can't do that!" Nico cried. "I have things to do! There are places I have to be!"

"I don't remember asking your opinion," Moody told him, obviously trying to end the conversation.

Nico seemed to be struggling for words. He grabbed his chair and threw it onto the floor. "Percy won't just go away," he snapped.

"He won't just get in, either." Moody continued regarding Nico like he was a foolish child. Harry had to admire Nico's resoluteness against his gaze. Nico's hand reached inside his jacket, but it came out empty. "If you're looking for your knife, you'll want to look harder, I didn't just leave that kind of thing in your jacket when I cleaned it out."

Nico growled, "What the—" But he stopped himself, as if he had been about to give something away. "What the hell?" he remedied. Harry furrowed his brow. What had Nico been about to say? "You're lucky it wasn't my sword, you'd be disintegrated!" he mumbled, obviously not intending for anyone to hear it.

Harry blinked. Had he just heard that? He glanced at his two best friends, but Hermione and Ron seemed oblivious. No one else showed any signs of hearing it.

"So, I believe that completes our half of the deal," Lupin carried on, clearly hoping to clear the air by just pressing on through the discussion. It didn't look like it was working. You could have cut the tension with a knife. Everyone except for Nico was beginning to look a bit uncomfortable. Harry felt like he was staring at a young dementor. Fear swept over him like a sheet, and Nico was reminding him of what Cedric had looked like last spring. The light that had extinguished from Cedric's eyes was reflected in Nico's face. Death and despair seemed to accompany the boy.

Ron was shrinking down in his chair, and he had gone so white that his freckles stood out almost black on his skin. Harry felt he was justified in his terror, he too wanted to crawl under the table and hide.

"Well, I don't want to tell you anymore," Nico growled, picking up the mug he had been sipping during the meal and flinging it at the wall. It shattered. Hermione ducked to avoid flying pieces of pottery, and a shard shot right over Harry's head. It landed in front of him on the table, and Harry realized it was rattling in place. Shocked, he glanced up. Nico was doing this, he was sure.

"Enough of this," Snape said, standing up. His chair fell over backwards. Nico glanced up at him, startled by the gesture, and their eyes collided. "The boy is hiding something. I'll find out what soon enough. _Legilimens_!"

Nico took a step back as Snape obviously began rifling through his mind, and he narrowed his eyes furiously. For some reason, he didn't break Snape's gaze, and Harry realized it must have been more of a pride thing. Like when dogs stared each other down for dominance. Nico's face was dead white, as if he was being forced to relive painful memories. Harry watched as his shadow stretched and grew. The shard of pottery on the table had begun to rattle so ferociously that it created an audible din. Snape glanced down at it, distracted, and the connection broke.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Everyone's shadows around the room exploded. They contorted and solidified, becoming raging black whips that started tearing through the kitchen. One knocked Fred off his seat and pinned him to the wall, and another whipped the table so that it was flung over. Moody and Tonks were forced to duck, but Snape was not fast enough. He was trapped under the seat.

Sirius leaped to his feet, ducking a black tentacle. It stabbed into the wall behind him and seemed to get stuck. As Harry hauled Ron and Hermione to cover behind the fallen table, he shouted, "_Stupefy_!" The spell hit Nico dead center in his chest, and he fell to the floor, knocked out.

Cautiously, Harry poked his head out. The shadows had vanished and the room had returned to semi-normal order, although the wreckage remained. A large puncture hole was in the wall, and the drawing room was visible through it. Nico had knocked over a candle, but Mrs. Weasley was in the process of stamping out the little fire he had lit. Everything that had been on the walls had been torn off, and the shadows had left big gashes in the wallpaper and ceiling.

"What was _that_?" Ron asked, aghast.

Sirius walked over to where Nico's body lay on the floor. Had Harry been unable to see his chest rising and falling slowly, he would have thought that Nico was a corpse. Gingerly, Sirius picked up the boy and slung him over his shoulder. "I'll move him to his room," he told them, heading for the stairs.

"Bloody hell," George said, brushing himself off. "I would _not_ want to be there when he woke up."

Nico opened his eyes. The rage had mostly gone out of him when he had been hit by whatever that was. For a moment, he was thought he was back in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The low lights reminded him of the way Bianca kept their hotel room at all times. She would have been watching over him if he was still recovering from a fever like this. "Bianca," he said instantly, turning his head to the side where she should have been.

Not Bianca, but Sirius sat in a chair pulled up beside the bed. He blinked, and everything came back to him in a big muddled mess. "You're awake," he said, smiling weakly. "That was quite the temper tantrum."

Nico shrugged his way out from under the blankets and reached for the canteen on the bedside table. His side was still aching, and he thought it had been long enough in between doses. If he wanted to kick this fever, it was time for some more nectar. This time, he finished off the canteen. Liquid birthday cake—a faint memory of Percy's birthday party. The saddest part was, the most delicious thing he'd ever had wasn't even meant for him. "I was in a bad mood."

"Yes, well, the giant shadow spikes threw us for a bit of a loop," Sirius teased.

Nico made a noise in the back of his throat. If Sirius just wanted to talk, he didn't have any interest. He didn't want to deal with Sirius suddenly changing his mind and vanishing off again.

"You're not alone here, you know," Sirius said suddenly. He looked like he was eating something very sour, as if the words were hard to get out. Nico felt the same way. The whole conversation was uncomfortable for them both. "I'm not allowed to leave the house, either."

Nico was interested suddenly. Everyone kept dodging around this. Why was Sirius so trapped in here? Everyone acted like he was their friend. "What's that about, anyways?" he asked.

"Well... I was sort of accused of murdering a whole bunch of people," he said, giving Nico a wry look. "Of course I never would, but I did a lot of jail time and nearly died. Anyways, I broke out a couple years back, but if they caught me I'd be shipped straight back there. Not my idea of fun."

Nico's jaw dropped. That was probably the last thing he would have guessed.

"So most everyone thinks I'm a raving lunatic, or a cold blooded killer," he said reproachfully.

"I get that a lot, too," Nico admitted. "Mostly because of who my dad is. He's... not the fuzziest guy ever. The shadow thing and scary aura is kind of a family trait."

Sirius smiled. "Oh, family," he sighed. "The Black name is quite spattered. We're not the cleanest people."

Nico grinned. "My dad does a lot of things that most people hate, too." For a moment, he felt close to Sirius. Not friends. But like they could be friends someday... Maybe.

Downstairs, someone began to shriek. "That'll be my mother," Sirius said, gloomily. "I better take care of it before she wakes the whole house." He rose from his seat and hurried out the door. "Goodnight, Nico," he said over his shoulder.

"'Night, Sirius," Nico said, and yawned. He glanced at the clock in the corner. Half past two. Gods, it was late.

* * *

><p>AN: Hey, guess what? This chapter marks one third of this story being over! And that's only if I keep the epilogue, which may not happen, it's rather dull. I won't be dragging this one out for a long time. It will be maybe nine chapters. If I keep writing at this rate, it'll be done in a little over two weeks! Whoa!

The next few chapters may be delayed because I'm doing viola camp next week, even though I don't play viola... Yet! They were pretty desperate for bodies, so I signed up. Promise I'm not abandoning it, though! I'm dying to keep writing, this chapter nearly killed me because I was so eager to do the next one!


	4. Chapter 4

Percy gave up pounding on the walls around three AM and took a short nap. At about seven, he got up and headed outside. If anyone came out, he'd make them tell him where Nico was. He was seriously starting to worry. Who were these guys, and what did they want with his cousin? Did they want him to raise the dead or something? That wasn't really possible, and he worried what they'd do to Nico when they found it out.

A man with a false eye and a ton of scars decorating his face stepped out the front door of Number 13 quickly and drew a thin stick. Percy realized he was going to disappear like the last girl had. He ran towards him, yelling, "Stop!" For some reason, the man listened to him and hastily crammed the rod back in his pocket. "You just came from in that house, didn't you?" he demanded.

The man glanced over his shoulder and nodded.

"What do you want with my cousin?" he asked, shaking his shoulders a little. "Just give him back already!"

The man looked furious for a moment, but suddenly his face shifted into a mask of confusion. It threw Percy for a loop, and he wondered if he had imagined it. "I don't quite know what you're talking about, son," he said. "Are you insinuating that I have kidnapped someone? Do I need to call the police?"

Percy stepped back, wondering if this guy was just an unfortunate mortal that he was totally wigging out right now. "Sorry, sir," he said, but the doubt remained. It would be better if he didn't remember Percy being there... He snapped his fingers in front of the man's face, and said, "No need to call the police, I'm just a normal teenage boy."

His human eye glazed over and seemed to react correctly. The man muttered, "Yes, of course... an ordinary kid." But his false eye spun in its socket and fixed on him, looking really ticked off. The man suddenly clapped a hand over his real eye and eyed Percy with the other. "Just what kind of a stunt was that?" he demanded in an ominous tone. "What are you trying to pull here, kid?"

Percy was absolutely shocked. How had he seen through the Mist? He knew he had done it right, his eye had fogged up and he had started to agree. It was like he had completely turned around halfway through, nothing like the way Rachel Dare had seen through the Mist instantly. He wasn't just a mortal with the sight, and any demigod that old would have to be really skilled to have lived that long that the Mist wouldn't be a problem for him. So he was just a really, really stubborn mortal? Percy began backing away slowly, but the man started after him.

"Hold on," he growled. "I've got a few more questions for you." He stretched out a gnarled hand to seize Percy's orange Camp Halfblood shirt, but Percy twisted away and sprinted up the road. Behind him, the man let out a roar of rage, but he didn't pursue him. He suspected it had something to do with the wooden leg. Unless he was the son of Nike or something, there was _no_ chance he'd catch up like that.

Percy watched from a distance until the man took out the rod again and vanished with a bang, just like the girl from before had. Then he slowly crept back up the road, feeling like a criminal. Which he shouldn't have to. It wasn't illegal to walk down the road in London, he was pretty sure. He approached the door of Number 11, determined to pound on the walls some more.

Okay, maybe this one was kinda illegal.

But, Percy reminded himself, legality was hardly important now. And it hadn't really been in the past, either. During the battle of Olympus, he had instructed people to steal phones. Of course they had been returned, but still. And allowed the Aphrodite campers to loot for anti-monster perfume.

Actually, now that Percy thought about it, he had done a lot of things frowned upon by law enforcement. He had basically robbed the water park after forcing entry to it back when he was twelve. He had as good as stolen those canoes when he was trying to get Annabeth back during the whole Artemis incident, because drachmas probably didn't fit in the ATM machine. And that was just the start of the list.

Past transgressions aside, Percy was not feeling too excited about another potential breaking and entering charge on his head. Sure, he hadn't gotten _caught_ before, but that was no reason for him to start today. Guiltily, he wandered to a new place to hack on the walls, hoping that maybe there would be a weak spot somewhere in this house. Drawing his sword, he tried to slice a big gash through it. Predictably, nothing happened.

* * *

><p>Sirius was in the drawing room with Nico. The desk drawer was rattling, but he had forgotten to ask Moody to check to see if it was a boggart or not and he didn't fancy opening the drawer and releasing something large and poisonous. So for now, the drawer would remain shut. Nico seemed apprehensive of it, and was sitting on the sofa on the opposite side of the room. Also in the room were Lupin and Ginny. The three of them were cleaning diligently, but after Nico's display the previous night, everyone was too frightened to force him to help. And Nico certainly didn't offer any assistance.<p>

Lupin and Ginny were struggling to make a strained conversation just to fill the uncomfortable silence left by Nico's presence. All of them could clearly feel the fear and death he carried with him wherever he went, but Sirius was glad they were trying hard to ignore it for his sake. "So you'll be a fourth year now, Ginny?" Lupin asked after a long pause that dragged on for ages.

"Yes, I will be," she said, visibly relieved that they weren't working in silence anymore. She let out a long breath. "I've been thinking about doing Quidditch, but I don't know what position I could play."

"Beater, maybe?" Lupin suggested, a twinkle in his eyes.

She snorted, and Sirius was pleased to see they had forgotten Nico was there for a brief moment. "Fred and George would only kill me," she said. "Seeker is out, obviously. I think I'd be a rubbish Keeper, even if there is an opening now that Wood's gone."

"That leaves... Chaser, then," Lupin said. "I think you could do it."

Ginny picked up her dusting cloth and stepped over to the windows that were invisible from the outside. She had to go around Nico on the couch to get to where the windows were, and they were all suddenly reminded of him. "I don't really—" she said, but broke off and just scrubbed the windows. After a while, she turned and looked to Nico. "What's that, then?" she asked, trying to look interested. Nico had his Muggle music box plugged in. Sirius had seen him use it once before, and he had brought it in to Grimmauld Place for him. He figured it was important.

"It's an iPod," Nico said, tugging what looked like an earplug out of his ear. The earplug was connected by a long wire to the box... the whole thing was very confusing looking. "It plays music."

"Ooh, who's your favorite artist?" she asked. "I like some Muggle bands, I might know who they are!"

Nico looked dubious. "Well, I guess My Chemical Romance is pretty popular in London," he suggested.

She glanced away. "I've heard of them... Not in the most glowing terms. Didn't they write an entire album about death?"

He scowled at the ground. "It was about a cancer patient, and probably the deepest album anyone has released in the past seventy years," he said, and the way he said it... Sirius almost felt like he knew exactly what music was like seventy years ago.

Then he shrugged the feeling off. Nico was thirteen, tops. Unless he had been getting some serious Philosopher Stone action, there was simply no way. And even the stone didn't prevent aging... it prevented dying. Nicolas Flamel had looked like an ancient hobbit when he died.

"Right," Ginny said, turning to the window. "I meant more like Lady GaGa, but to each their own."

Frankly, Sirius felt that all of the Muggle band names were a bit ridiculous. He didn't want to intrude, though, so he just scrubbed the carpet harder, trying to get out what may or may not have been a blood stain. His parents worried him some times.

Harry burst through the door. "Someone's pounding on the wall downstairs," he said breathlessly. "Against the dining room wall. Molly said to come get you."

Lupin rose instantly, as did Sirius, eager for a break from the bloody carpet. Nico perked up, but Lupin shook his head, silently denying him permission to come. Nico's happy expression slipped off his face. "I think it would be best if you stayed here," he told him.

Sirius wanted to say something in the boy's defense, but Nico had already slumped back onto the sofa and plugged back into his 'iPod'. He turned up the volume so loudly that Sirius could hear faint strains of song from the opposite side of the room. The singer seemed to be doing less singing and more screaming along to a heavy drum beat. Sirius got the message. Conversation over.

Ginny saw them leaving and dropped the rag. She clearly didn't want to be left alone with Nico for the fear he would start going crazy on her. She hurried after Sirius. Lupin was already to the top of the stairs. "Where's the fire?" Sirius joked. Lupin wore a good humored expression, but his eyes were intense, like a cold inferno behind them raged. It shocked him to see his friend in such a state.

They gathered in the dining room, where someone was whaling on the wall and shouting. "If you can hear me, I'm _not_ going away until you let my cousin out of there!" a teenage boy hollered through the wall. "Answer me!"

Lupin relaxed. "He won't be able to hear a word we're saying," he said. "There are preventative charms against that sort of thing." Then he frowned. "However, he on the other hand, has grown a bit irritating. _Muffliato_."

The boy's voice grew a bit softer in his complaints, but didn't vanish entirely.

"We'll just put on a nice record and it'll be like he's not there," Mrs. Weasley suggested, grabbing a vinyl disc off of the counter and putting it on the player. After a moment, a creaky melody wafted out of the ancient speakers and the boy was mostly silenced aside from the odd thump against the wall.

Upstairs, a loud yell resounded through the house, followed by a noisy crash.

Sirius and Lupin made for the stairs, followed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The twins appeared out of their rooms halfway up the first flight and joined the group as they ran up the next flight. On the third floor, the drawing room door was wide open and a twelve foot tall man stood in a fancy Muggle suit, holding a humongous lightning bolt in one hand that was crackling with electricity. They froze in the doorway. Sirius looked around the room for Nico, who had slid back against the far wall and was shaking all over.

"Nico di Angelo," the man boomed. "I've come to finish what should have ended seventy years ago. Do not tremble, demigod. You will be seeing your relatives very soon." He gave Nico a cold smirk.

Nico was absolutely white with fear. Normally, this wouldn't be unusual as Nico was always pale and skeletal, but it was like every ounce of color he had was gone. "No," Nico said as the man approached him. "What have I done? Wasn't I useful last summer, my lord? If it wasn't for me—"

"You are nothing more than the worthless son of my selfish brother," the man growled. "Like him, you have begun to rot from the inside. I suspect you have little time before you go mad as the rest of your siblings." Nico sucked in a sharp breath. The man wasn't done. "Your sister was lucky to die before the insanity got to her."

Nico's eyes narrowed. He lunged to his feet and sprang at the man. "Never talk about Bianca! It's your fault she was on the quest! If you had just let us be back then, she would have died of old age before Kronos even began to return!" The shadows exploded around the room, heading straight for the man. Sirius was sure he'd be skewered, but they seemed to just bounce off of him and spun around the room wildly, seeking a new target.

The man laughed and swatted him aside. "You dare attack me, boy? You presumptuous brat. You think you can defeat the king of the gods?"

That was quite the ego, Sirius thought, drawing his wand to help. "_Protego_!" he cried, deflecting a column of black just in time. Sirius's eyes fell on an open desk drawer in the corner of the room. Wait...

Nico had hit the wall and fallen onto the floor, but he was climbing back up. Every stone or earthenware object in the room began to rattle and rise. Unfortunately, this was the room that his mother had kept her tea cup collection in. The freakishly contorted cups—not Nico's doing, his mother had such an odd taste in things—began to fly across the room at the self proclaimed 'king of the gods'. Lupin whipped out his wand as well.

"_Riddikulus_!" Sirius shouted, pointing at the twelve foot man. He imagined the man in a purple frilly dress and let out a snort of laughter that bordered on hysterical. The boggart spun a few times before exploding.

"Blimey, and I thought spiders were bad," Ron said from behind him.

Nico slumped on the floor, curling into a ball. The cups began to fall from the sky and shatter on the floor. Behind him, Lupin muttered something and they all froze in mid air, or what was left of them, anyways. Not that Sirius particularly cared about saving them. The two of them hurried to his side, and Hermione scurried behind them, anxiously peering down at Nico.

"You're safe now," Hermione said, awkwardly patting Nico's shoulder as Lupin checked him for broken bones. "That wasn't real. It was a monster that just takes the shape of something you're afraid of."

Nico let out an animal snarl and brought his hand up, clawing Hermione across the face. She lurched backwards, clutching her cheek. A trio of red lines were beginning to seep blood. Everyone went for their wands, even Harry and Ron, who couldn't legally use them.

"Nico, calm down!" Sirius shouted. Instead of calming down, Nico spun on Sirius. "Can't we just talk this through like sensible people? Who was that man? Why did you call him 'lord'?"

"A murderer," Nico spat, and the levitated teacups began to shake in place. One split in half and shot shards of clay everywhere, making them all duck. A shard cut Nico right across the cheek, but he ignored it. "He killed my mother, and he tried to kill me and my sister."

"What was he saying about your siblings all going insane?" Lupin asked. Sirius felt that maybe Nico was beginning to slip a bit towards the other side of sane, but he wisely kept his mouth shut, thinking Nico would take his head off if he said so.

Nico grimaced. "Runs in the family. We all go mad, sooner or later. I've lasted fairly long, by comparison," he added, but Sirius sort of doubted that. And if Nico was thirteen, and gone mad, just how long had the others made it?

"He called you a demigod," Lupin said, but Nico seemed to be done talking. He clawed at Lupin as he reached out to try and calm him down. "Ouch! I'm just trying to help," he said, retracting his hand after Nico tore a gash in it with his nails.

"I don't need your help!" he shouted. "I don't need you or anyone else's help!" Nico threw his arms in the air and more cups began to explode. Sirius jumped across the room to where Harry was standing, wide eyed, and he pushed him and Ron behind him so the shards wouldn't hit them.

"_Stupefy_!" Lupin cried, and Nico fell to the floor in a pile of limbs. Somehow freed from their spell, the cups all fell to the ground and were smashed. "What do we do now?" Lupin asked, helplessly.

"I think we need to talk to Snape," Sirius said.

* * *

><p>Severus swept into the Order two hours later. He ignored Sirius in the front hallway and entered the kitchen instead. When he realized there was a noise coming from the walls, he began to study the walls intensely. Aside from him, the dining room was empty. Maybe people were disturbed by the noise coming from the other side, or maybe they had gotten sick of listening to the same witch on repeat, over and over again. Even Molly had hurried away. Sirius took the record off, and the noise became more pronounced.<p>

"What exactly did you see in Nico's mind when you used Legilimency on him?" Sirius demanded, following him in. Snape raised his hooked nose in the air. He gazed down at Sirius, clearly thinking he was better than him. Sirius wanted to shake him hard and turn him upside down by his ankles like he had done in school.

"And why, exactly, should I tell you?" he sniffed with his big bird beak of a nose. "What's in it for me?"

Sirius gritted his teeth. "You're going to tell me before I punch your big honking face in, that's why!" he snapped. He grabbed the front of Snape's robe and twisted it.

Snape brushed him off. "I know why you invited me here. If I didn't intend to tell you, it wouldn't have been worth my time. Mr. di Angelo has a bit of a curious brain. At first, he seemed to be thinking about his sister, Bianca, who died a few years ago. I didn't access that part of his memory. Instead I tried to get into his past. Oddly enough, anything before the age of ten is gone. Completely blank. Though the boy seems to have spent a large amount of time playing Muggle video games." Snape shrugged. "That's all I could get before the table flew at me, thank you very much. Maybe if I could get another look..."

But Sirius wasn't sure he wanted Snape to get inside Nico's head anymore. Snape wouldn't be careful with Nico, he'd be rough and abrasive, and probably upset Nico more than anything. The last thing they needed was another temper tantrum, especially after that last boggart bit. He shook his head. "The boy's unconscious right now, anyways."

Snape arched his eyebrows. "Really," he said, in a voice that was curious but trying to mask it by sounding indifferent.

Sirius nodded, smirking inwardly, proud of the fact that he had gotten Snape intrigued. "Oh, yeah. He faced a boggart, which tried to kill him. After that, he lost it and started attacking us."

"I'd better be on my way, then," Snape said, anxiously peering at the ceiling as if Nico would come thundering down and maul him at any second. He hurried away like a rat. At the door, he paused and looked back at Sirius. "Do get rid of him soon," he added, looking intimidated.

As the door slammed shut behind him, Sirius sank into a chair and stared at the wall. A painting depicting Regulus Black on his first day of school shook and fell off with another thump. He felt terrible for Nico. He was trapped in a house he didn't want anything to do with, which was something Sirius could definitely relate to. Letting him out, though, was a major security risk. The others would never agree to it.

But, Sirius wondered, did he even care what the others wanted anymore? His friend was getting more and more miserable upstairs, and he hated to watch him like this. Nico was clearly not in a good state of mental health, and he doubted being locked up in this bin was really helping him with that.

Suddenly, the rhythmic thudding on the wall stopped. Sirius stared at the moldy wood, wondering what was going to happen next.

* * *

><p>Percy slumped against the wall in defeat. This clearly was NOT working. He was just being ignored. He wondered if there was even anyone over there, or he was mistakenly pounding against an empty building's adjoining wall. He was so worried about Nico. Anything could have happened to him by now. Visions of a bloody, battered boy flashed through his head. He winced, squeezing his eyes shut to try and block out the images.<p>

He stood up and wandered into the kitchen, which was disgustingly filthy. Gods, he was getting thirsty. If only he could get something to drink... A quick check in the fridge gave him hope for a moment, but the gallon of milk was set to expire tomorrow... ten years ago. Percy made a retching noise and pushed it back into the warm fridge, which obviously had not had any power in years.

Without much hope, he turned on the kitchen sink. To his surprise, it spewed out a rusty red stream of water. Percy gaped at it for a moment as the rust slowly faded away until it was barely tinged pink. Then he stuck his hands under it and drank deeply. That cleared the dust out of his throat nicely. After breathing in nothing but stale air and dust motes, his lungs were caked with the stuff.

Hang on, Percy realized. There was _water_ in this house. He was the son of Poseidon. What was he thinking? If his sword couldn't get through it, maybe he could get something else through. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made to him. Nico had created some kind of rainbow with steam or something, which meant that house had running water too. And if they had water, he could force the pipes inside to explode.

He didn't know how much it would do, but maybe something would happen. Percy figured it was worth a shot.

He closed his eyes and tried to feel the water as it rushed through the pipes. A familiar tug in his gut appeared, and suddenly the water seemed to match his pulse. Percy felt the water just like he felt a strong rush of blood to the head, and he turned around. Digging his nails into his palms, he cranked up the pressure. A leak sprang on the wall.

No, that would be no good. There was no reason to flood his half of the house. A pressure began to surge on his ears, and then suddenly, it popped. The water was free, but it wasn't coming out on this side.

Which meant it _was_ coming out somewhere else. Percy grinned.

* * *

><p>Sirius walked to the wall. He knocked against it briefly, wondering what had happened to the boy on the other side. Had he given up and left? Somehow, Sirius doubted that. He suspected the boy was planning something new. It was like the calm before the storm.<p>

Sirius leaped back as the walls began to explode with water. "Good god!" he yelled. Molly hurried into the room and gasped.

"What is going on here?" she cried, pulling out her wand. As she began to frantically cast spells, Sirius began trying to cover up the holes in the walls with his hands. It did nothing—the water shot out around his palms anyways. Nothing seemed to be working. Suddenly, the thumping returned with renewed vigor, and it was much louder and accompanied by frightening cracking noises.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared in the kitchen. Hermione let out a gasp. "Oh my word!" she shrieked. "What's happening?"

Harry stepped into the room and straight into a puddle of water. His socks were instantly drenched. Sirius glanced back at them. "Go get Lupin!" he shouted. Ron turned and started to run back up the stairs. "What are you waiting for?" he demanded, trying to get Harry and Hermione out of there. Instead, Hermione pointed a shaking hand at the wall, and Sirius turned to see that a long black crack was spreading along the wall. Each thump made it grow and branch out a little more.

Sirius backed away from the wall a few steps and drew his wand. He had to be ready for whatever was on the other side.

Then the wall blew open. Before anyone could move, a boy with black hair and sea green eyes lunged through the gaping void and grabbed Harry. He held a glowing bronze sword at Harry's throat. "Nobody move," he said. "Or I'll..." but he trailed off, looking slightly sick at the thought of cutting Harry's head off. Harry raised his hands slowly.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked, aghast.

"I'm Percy," he said. "I've come for my cousin. Where is he?"

"He's on the third floor, but be forewarned," Sirius blurted. "He's unconscious." He had to tell Percy, Nico needed to get out of here. Molly cut him a glare for telling him. What did she want him to do? Let Harry get his head cut off? It was win/win for both sides. Harry kept his head on and Nico got out of this godforsaken hovel.

"_Stupefy_!" Molly shouted, shooting the spell at the boy. It hit Percy in the face and _bounced off_. While everyone gaped at him in astonishment, the curse rebounded and hit Harry in the neck. Harry slumped to the ground, and Percy let go of him.

"Oh, well," he said. "I've never really liked hostage situations much, myself." Then he turned around and sprinted for the staircase. Sirius ran right after him.

At the second landing, Percy swung around and jabbed the sword tip at Sirius, who took a defensive step back. "What do you want?" he demanded coldly. Sirius held up his hands and met his eye.

"I'm helping Nico get out of here," he said. "We're friends. I'm Sirius."

Percy studied him, and Sirius got the feeling that if he didn't meet this character test, Percy would have no problem shoving him down the flight of stairs. Then he nodded, to Sirius's relief. "I believe you. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Sirius had not been kidding—Nico really was passed out. He wanted to punch the guy who did it in the face. As he leaned over his cousin to check him for wounds, he realized that there were thin streaks from tears running down his face. Nico had been crying. What had happened? He had never seen Nico cry, even when Bianca died, although he suspected Nico had just waited until he was alone to do it then. Percy wiped off his face quickly and felt his forehead to make sure the fever had gone down. Relief swept through him. Nico was cold as always.<p>

"Help me get him on my back," Percy said, and Sirius lifted Nico so he was wrapped around him, his arms dangling in front of Percy. "I'll take the backpack, too," he added, grabbing the orange bag off the ground. Then he paused. "Hold on," he told Sirius, who was making for the door. He dug in his pockets and found a golden drachma. "Here."

Sirius accepted the coin. "Nico had these before, didn't he?" he asked, holding it up to the light. "What are they?"

Percy hesitated. He didn't really intend to tell Sirius how the whole Iris Messaging thing worked. That would be revealing all the demigod things to him.

"It's like a phone card for our... family," he said. "You need to get some kind of rainbow or mist or something going on, and then you throw the coin through the rainbow. Then say, 'O Goddess, please accept my offering. Show me...' and then you say the name or the place of the person you want to see." He grabbed Sirius's hand and wrote down the Camp Halfblood address on it, having no paper. "That's the address we'll be at, but if you just say 'Camp Halfblood', we'll get the call."

Sirius studied his hand. "I see. And if you need to contact us, we're at..." He hesitated, probably not intending to tell them where he lived. Not that it really mattered, now that Percy had kind of busted down a _freaking wall_. So they were both hiding things. "Give me that pen," he said quickly. "And don't show anyone other than Nico."

Percy nodded, not getting what the big deal was. He handed over the pen and held out his hand for Sirius to write it on. He wrote down _Number 12, Grimmauld Place_. Percy tried to read it out loud, but found he couldn't form the words. That was odd. He tried again, to the same effect.

"I'll be here," Sirius said, somewhat bitterly. "Now let's go."

Percy followed him back downstairs. A haggard man was trying to revive his former hostage, who was still slumped against the wall, and a thin barrier that shimmered and rippled in place like a veil had filled the void. When they saw him, everyone pointed their sticks at him. Percy was having a hard time being intimidated by this, because after having the Minotaur charge straight at you, trying to murder you, you had a hard time getting nervous over a couple wooden rods. Sirius seemed to take a different position than him.

"_Protego_!" Sirius shouted, and a thin wall spread between Percy and Sirius and the rest of the people in the living room. Their faces changed dramatically, looking startled and then really angry.

Percy gaped at him. What had he just done? All of the things people had done with those sticks hadn't affected him yet. This was the first real display of power he had seen with them, aside from when the lady knocked out the kid. Sirius turned and faced the veil, muttering softly under his breath.

"Go on," he said as it thinned and vanished. "You can get through. Tell Nico I say hello when he wakes up," he added, and Percy nodded gratefully.

He stepped through the void and watched as Sirius began repairing the wall. He noticed that he didn't let the wall between his friends and him go down just then. Percy hoped he hadn't caused too much trouble for him, and then he turned and ran to find Mrs. O'Leary.

She had gotten up and was chewing on the kitchen counter, snorting angrily when she couldn't bite it off. "Time to go home, girl," he said, and she perked up eagerly.

Mrs. O'Leary let out a loud woof as Percy climbed up onto her back. He grabbed her puppy fat on her neck to get a better grip. It was like picking up a large dog with one hand. Even her fat was massive. She barked again and turned to run straight at the wall. Percy closed his eyes an instant before collision, sure they were going to smack a dog shaped hole through the house. Then he opened them and Mrs. O'Leary was running through an empty void.

They were going home.

* * *

><p>"Nico has gone," was the first thing Moody said when he arrived that evening for dinner.<p>

"Well, that's because I helped him escape," Sirius said, pleasantly, sitting back in his chair.

Moody looked really upset, but Sirius didn't feel the least bit guilty. He had taken down the wall between him and the others only about ten minutes after Percy left, and let Molly lecture him for a good hour. He had done what he knew was right in helping Nico get home. He had fixed the dangerous hole in the security wall of Number 12. His conscience was completely appeased.

The table was silent until Ginny said, "Good." Everyone looked at her and she blushed. "What? He was really freaking us all out. I'm glad he's gone."

"Depressing blighter, wasn't he?" Fred asked, taking a sip of his water.

Hermione simply nodded. The bandage on her cheek was more than enough reason for her to want him out of there.

"Security!" Moody spat, standing up. "You've completely put the security of this house at risk! What if they found out the address? They could get in!"

Sirius hesitated. "They don't know the address," he lied, although he was pretty sure that didn't ease Moody's rage. Moody probably knew he was lying.

"Come now, everyone," Molly said, waving her wand. The pot of soup began ladling itself out into everyone's bowls. "Let's not ruin dinner with all this serious discussion. We can talk about it tonight at the meeting."

Ginny groaned. "Another secret meeting?" Fred and George, on the other hand, had their eyes twinkling with pleasure. They were obviously going to listen in.

Sirius was not excited for the meeting. He knew he was going to get chewed out for what he did, but he didn't care. It was the right thing. He had no regrets.

* * *

><p>AN: Hey guys! Sorry this one took me so long to update! I decided it needed more action about two seconds before publishing this chapter and I wound up rewriting about half of it over the weekend. Plus I started viola camp this morning, and I started playing viola for the first time ever yesterday. So I'm busy trying to learn the darned thing. Alto clef confuses me! TT_TT

I don't think I'll be able to continue my 1 AM writing sessions if I want to remain awake at camp. In other words... the next chapter, which is all I think I'll get out this week, will be delayed. Apologies to everyone, but I will write with renewed vigor after Friday!

Please leave a review and give me some more feedback! I love hearing what everyone thinks!


	5. Chapter 5

Nico opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Light was streaming through the windows and the scent of the sea breeze filled his nostrils. He rubbed his eyes groggily. He must have been having a dream about being home again. Then he looked back up. The room was still there.

Percy was by his side in an instant. "Nico!" he cried, looking very relieved. "You're awake, thank the gods!" He was grinning ear to ear. "Are you hungry? Do you need something to eat? It's almost lunch time."

Nico reached out a hand to touch Percy, who felt warm and solid. So he wasn't dreaming? "My fever must be worse than I thought," he muttered.

Percy started to laugh, to his surprise. "No, really! I got in last night." And then he told Nico the whole story. As he listened, Nico's eyes got wider and wider. Percy had done that... for him? Maybe he had been wrong. Would someone who didn't actually care about him break down a wall and take a random stranger at sword point? Nico wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and couldn't quite decide if he was still having some weird fever dream. "Also, Sirius says hello," Percy added as he finished.

Nico started. Sirius! He hoped he hadn't gotten in too much trouble for Nico's sake. From what Percy had told him, he had very gallantly helped get him out of there. Him and Percy both owed him a lot. "Thanks," he said, quietly. He wondered if they'd ever be able to meet again.

"Don't mention it," Percy said, looking uncomfortable. "I sorta owed you from last year, so this really isn't a big deal."

Nico blinked. Was Percy telling him that he only did this so he wouldn't owe him anymore? He couldn't be sure. It would explain why he was so willing to help. Nico bit back a cold response, but inside a bubble of hope popped and he slowly sank into himself.

"You really were out cold," Percy said, turning back to the fountain and tossing a couple more drachmas into the water to restock it. "You've been unconscious for three days! Are you hungry?"

He shrugged, but now that Percy mentioned it, Nico was starving. "Is it time for breakfast?" he asked hopefully.

Percy chuckled and walked back over to him. He messed up Nico's hair, which Nico hated. It made him feel like a little kid, and Nico wasn't a little boy anymore. "You kinda missed it. It's almost lunchtime." He took his hand off Nico's head, and Nico touched his scalp as Percy started sifting through discarded clothing on the ground. Bianca used to do that to him when they were younger, he remembered. The gesture had been warm and protective then, like no matter what, his family always had his back.. For some reason, he felt that way about it when it came from Percy. Maybe it wasn't a completely bad gesture. "I think I have something you can wear," Percy said, tossing him a Camp Half-Blood shirt. "Your old stuff was pretty rank."

Nico wrinkled his nose at the bright orange rag that was burnt, slightly bloody, and torn. Not to mention he doubted it had been washed in weeks. "And this is better, how?" he asked, but he dutifully pulled it on over his head. The shirt fit him more like a long tunic, which was humiliating.

Percy made gagging motions and held his nose. "Trust me," he teased, "this is better."

He pushed his cousin, but it wasn't a cruel gesture. For once, Nico actually felt like joking around with other people. Any doubts he had about Percy helping just to square off their debts faded as the atmosphere lightened.

Nico hopped into the bathroom inside Percy's cabin to clean up, because he wasn't too clean after his battle with the fake Zeus in Grimmauld place. The room was filthy, and being flung around it had stirred up enough dust and dirt to cake him solid. The hot water rinsed away all his apprehension and finally convinced him he was awake. This was real.

The two of them left the cabin together and started towards the open air dining pavilion. "Oh, shoot," Percy said, snapping his finger as he remembered something. Nico stopped in his tracks. What was wrong now? Was Percy deciding he didn't want to be seen with him? "I promised Annabeth I'd go get her when you woke up, but she's at the Big House with Chiron, working out her next trip to Olympus." He gave Nico a quick grin. "Meet you up there. Save me a seat?"

Nico let out a wry smile. Like there would be hoards of people fighting to sit next to either of them. It was forbidden to sit at a table other than yours, but sometimes Chiron or Mr. D looked the other way in the case of the Big Three kids, as they had no one to sit with.

Percy jogged off towards the porch on the other side of the U of cabins. He didn't glance back except at the door, and then he waved before disappearing inside the building.

"Hey, Zombie Boy!" called a deep, cruel voice behind him. Nico turned around slowly, dread washing over him. It had already begun. The voice belonged to a beefy Ares camper probably about Percy's age. He wore a leather jacket and was popping his knuckles threateningly. Behind him were two of his menacing friends. "Back so soon from your little vacation? Guess we didn't scare you off for good yet, huh?"

They gave him menacing looks. Nico wasn't sure whether to try and claw his eyes out before they mangled him good or run away, hard and fast. Being picked on by campers sucked, but at least it got him ready for actual battle situations.

That was Nico's life. A whole freaking endless battle.

"Nice dress," the guy added, looking at Nico's humongous camp shirt. He was right, it did fit him more like a dress, which was embarrassing as Hades. Nico turned red, and it was super obvious when he did so because the second guy snickered.

"Touchy subject, huh?" he chortled to himself. Nico hated him.

He didn't even _know_ these kids. Why were they bullying him? What made him so much more of an easy target than the rest of the campers? Was it some strange camp tradition at this point? One of them shoved his shoulders and he went down hard. At this point, he felt exhausted, even though he had just woken up from a three day nap. He fell on his butt and the guy loomed over him, casting a long shadow over Nico.

"Careful, he's a fragile loser," the second jerk laughed. "Wears dresses, check. Frail pussy, check. You're turning into a freaking girl."

"Boy, girl," the first one sniffed. "I'll beat anyone up." Then he reared back his fist, ready to slug Nico in the head.

Nico realized he was sitting in his shadow just in time and melted away into the darkness, leaving the jerk's fist to swish straight through air. He thought he heard a howl of rage as he vanished from the scene.

He hadn't had a destination in mind when he zipped out of there. He tried to go back to Grimmauld Place so he could see Sirius, but for some reason the shadow world blocked him from exiting straight into Sirius's kitchen. Oh well, he thought, they had imprisoned him for so long that he doubted they'd be glad to see him. Besides, if he couldn't shadow travel out of there, he'd just wind up in more trouble than before.

As he drifted through time and space in the shadow realm, he wondered about Sirius. He had been so nice to him. They had barely known each other. He realized that he was missing him really badly, that he wanted to go see him again. Sirius, Nico finally understood, was his friend.

Nico wasn't quite sure how to deal with this revelation. His stomach growled loudly again. _McDonalds_, he thought. _I want McDonalds_. He didn't know where he wanted to go, but he knew that he wanted to go somewhere far away. This time, he decided to make it back to camp for the night. There'd be no more of this 'insane imprisonment' business. He could just get hopped up on caffeine and make the trip home, then crash in his own bed.

The vague shadow travel landed him in the middle of an alley, and the only other person in it was a homeless guy who looked so muddled and confused that he just glanced at Nico. "Are you an angel?" he asked, and Nico smelled alcohol on him. He shuffled away. Drunks freaked him out.

"No, I'm the devil," he told him before striding away. In response, the guy passed out on the pavement.

And right next to him, praise the gods, was a glowing McDonalds sign! Nico grinned. Maybe he was better at this whole traveling business than he thought!

He slowly realized he didn't have any money. That sucked. There wasn't really a way to shoplift the food, either. Still, he was too... not afraid, per se, to return to camp. He had fought in a war last summer, to fear a bully was dumb. What Nico was afraid of, however, was rejection. From Percy, and also from Annabeth.

He slid into a booth and pretended to be playing with his iPod while waiting for someone. Next to him, a family was eating their dinner. A toddler was flinging handfuls of french fries at her father and screaming eagerly. She saw him watching, grinned devilishly, and beaned him with her chicken nuggets. They bounced off onto the table, and Nico popped one in his mouth. Yum.

Her mother jumped up. "I am _so_ sorry!" she cried. "I can't believe she just did that!"

Nico waved her off. "It's fine," he said.

This was usually the part where people turned away from him and went back to their own business. Maybe they were intimidated by his clothing, which usually had a more gothic feel to it. Maybe they felt the aura of death and fear around him that lingered no matter what he did. No matter what, they just resumed ignoring him, like he wasn't even there.

This family was different. The little girl's mother's eyes fell on the chicken nuggets he had swept off the table and was trying to smuggle into his pockets. Her eyes narrowed and he wondered if he was about to have to pull a Houdini. He jumped up. "Uh, I have to go meet my... parents," he said, wincing at how lame the lie sounded even to himself. "Nice meeting you..."

"You hungry?" the toddler asked, except it came out much more adorably, like "Oo hung-we?" He started to shake his head, but his stomach let out a particularly traitorous growl. Nico wondered if it was time to bolt yet. He winced at their concerned looks.

"I... have to go," he said.

The woman shook her head and grabbed a chair from a nearby table. She pulled it up next to them. "Eat with us," she said. Then she offered him the rest of her fries.

Nico wasn't quite sure what to do now. Why were complete strangers—people he had never even met before and probably would never see again—being nice to him, when his fellow halfbloods couldn't even muster up a kind word? The woman's pleasant smile only made his heart throb with a dull pain. He dropped his eyes to the table, which was the color of puke and greasy fries.

Then he saw the toy that had come in the Happy Meal the little girl had sitting in front of her. It was a Mythomagic figurine, and not just any figure. The statue was a black and silver twisted skeleton man with a long black cloak swirling around him. He recognized it—it was a Hades figure, the way the mortals saw him. The portrayal was offensive and rude, and under different circumstances, Nico might have flung the disgusting statue out the window.

Nico smiled sadly, painfully reminded of the boundaries between mortals and the gods. He would never fit in with either world. Nico backed away from the woman's inviting meal. The thought was nice, and Nico was surprised by the random act of human kindness, something he so rarely saw. Still, as eager as he was to sit down with this family and talk to them, he didn't trust them. Something in the back of his head told him he couldn't trust anyone but himself. Nico suspected that it was nothing more than old instincts engraved on his mind by the last three years of being mercilessly bullied for who his father was, but he didn't want to risk the chance.

He turned heel and ran out the door. As Nico threw it open, he threw a mournful glance back. The family was sitting there with puzzled expressions. The first patch of darkness he found, he flung himself into and dove back into the realm of shadows. The gnawing hunger in his chest only seemed to point out the emptiness he felt everywhere else.

* * *

><p>Harry stepped over the dewy grass and let out a long breath. Out here, there was no chance of being caught anymore. He pulled off the invisibility cloak and looked back at the castle. As always, it towered over him majestically, giving off a regal sense of mystery. But the feeling of safety he had always thought it possessed was slipping away fast this year.<p>

He turned back to Hagrid's hut and went to knock on the door. He knew that if he was caught sneaking around this late, he'd be as good as expelled, especially if Umbridge found out. But he couldn't take it anymore—he had to get in and talk to his friend. There was so much going on now, what with the OWLs and Snape determined to teach him Occlumency, not to mention that horrible hag, Umbridge, basically ruining Hogwarts.

He needed to sit with someone and voice all his fears, and for some reason, he thought that as great as Ron and Hermione were, they just wouldn't do it. Ron would only agree miserably and make him feel worse, and Hermione would tell him to make the best of the situation and lecture him to pieces. Then she'd tell him to get back to studying. Only Hagrid, he felt, could really make him feel better about all of this.

He pounded on the door twice, but there was no response. The lights were on, he noticed, so Hagrid wasn't asleep. Cautiously, he knocked again, a little harder, but nothing responded. Feeling anxious, Harry tried the doorknob. Had Hagrid been fired in the night and removed from the grounds? It swung open easily, and Harry came in. The house was empty, which sent a shiver of fear racing down Harry's spine. Fang, too, was gone. That slightly eased his fears. If Hagrid had taken Fang, then there hadn't been a problem like when he had to go to Azkaban briefly in his second year. Fang had remained in the hut, whining and crying the whole time.

Also, if Hagrid had been fired, he thought he would have taken a few more of his belongings, too. Which meant one thing. Hagrid was probably in the Forbidden Forest.

As if those were the magic words, a low and sad whistle began to emerge from the trees. Harry darted out the back door, feeling slightly guilty about breaking into his friend's house. He tugged the cloak over his head and resolved to knock on the door once Hagrid got back inside the house.

Then he saw Hagrid.

He had a big black eye and multiple bloody scratches on his face, and Hagrid was holding his left arm gingerly by his right. Also, he was limping and staggering as he emerged from the trees. Fang was right beside him, whimpering at his owner.

Harry had to know what could do this to Hagrid. Hagrid was literally a half giant, so what was it that had beat him up so easily? He faced the tree line. Nothing in there, or so he had thought, hated Hagrid. He doubted his friend would tell him, and if he were Hagrid, he wouldn't want to be seen all bloody and beaten up.

Harry began to hurry towards the trees. As he passed Hagrid, Fang let out a short bark and Harry sucked in his breath, sure to be caught, but Hagrid payed no attention.

He jogged through the trees, trying to figure out which way Hagrid had gone, but he wasn't much for tracking. Hagrid didn't leave big footprints like people did on the crime shows Dudley loved to watch on the telly. Within a few minutes, Harry quickly realized that he was hopelessly lost.

The familiar outline of a thestral loomed into view. Harry tensed. Something about these creatures reminded him far too much of death. A foal hobbled over to him and nudged him in the side. Cautiously, he patted it on the head.

"So they like you, too," came a voice from behind him. Harry spun around and came face to face with Nico di Angelo, who he had last seen being stunned by Lupin in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place three months ago. The thestral started from his sudden movement and trotted back to its mother. Nico had approached him absolutely silently, and Harry was totally shocked. He had thought he was still under the cloak. When he glanced down, he realized the hood had come down during his trek through the trees, and it had brushed back over his shoulders. He pulled it off and hung it over his arm. "Interesting cloak," Nico said. "Can I see?"

Hesitantly, Harry turned the cloak over to Nico, who held it up and wrapped it around himself. He grinned in delight.

"My dad has a hat like this," he added to Harry, handing it back to him. Harry clutched the cloak to his chest protectively. Had he really thought Nico was going to steal it? Now he felt foolish and paranoid.

"Really," Harry managed, still a bit shocked to see Nico here. Truthfully, he hadn't really listened to what Nico had said, but now it was beginning to strike him as odd. And how had Nico gotten into Hogwarts? Muggles couldn't just walk right in, and there was no Apparating on campus, even if you were a highly powerful wizard. "What are you doing here?"

Nico shrugged and wandered back towards the thestrals. "I could sense the death that surrounds these guys. They absolutely reek of death, actually. I've always been drawn towards that, so when I felt it, I thought I'd check it out. Then I just shadow traveled here."

Harry wasn't sure if that was a really amazing ability or just plain creepy.

Nico suddenly was next to him again, and Harry realized he had briefly disappeared and reappeared next to him. "Actually, you're reeking death, too," he said, sounding puzzled. "But you seem very alive, at the same time." He studied Harry like he was a bug, and Harry shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"What exactly does that mean?" Harry asked anxiously. He wondered if it had anything to do with the strange bond between him and Voldemort.

Nico nodded, like he had an epiphany. "You've just got a bit of death attached to you. In fact, I'd say it's lodged in your face." He jabbed a bony white finger into his scar, and Harry winced. Voldemort himself had done just that last spring after he returned from the dead. Nico and Voldemort had the same frail, cold hands. It was strange and a little disturbing.

Harry smacked his hand away and put a worried hand over the scar. "That's not normal," he told the boy. "Don't touch my face. I don't like the scar."

"Yes, you wouldn't, would you?" Nico said, and Harry wondered what exactly he could tell about him by looking at the scar. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to be Harry _Potter_, would you?"

Harry started. How had a Muggle found out about him? Then again, judging by the way he 'shadow traveled', as he called it, this boy was about as Muggle as him. "Yes, why?" he asked.

"Oh, no reason," Nico said, smiling in a frightening way. Harry quickly stepped away from the boy. He slipped his hand towards his pocket until he could feel the comforting touch of his wand. "You know, you have a lot of death in your future," he went on to say. Harry was beginning to regret ever coming into the trees. This was perhaps even more unsettling of a conversation than the one he had with Voldemort.

"So does everyone," Harry said, determined not to tell Nico anything about him and Voldemort's future battle that would inevitably happen one of these days.

"I'm not talking about that. It's soon," he said. "But don't worry, it's not yours."

Harry had had enough. This conversation was beyond disturbing. "So basically, you're telling me that I'm going to watch my friends die soon," he said.

Nico shook his head. "I don't know who will die. But I sense the lives of people around you beginning to dwindle. The Fates are pulling their threads tight. Of course, it could be someone you don't like, so there's always that." Then Nico let out a massive yawn. "Gods, I'm tired tonight."

Harry watched as Nico transformed before his eyes from a creepy, death obsessed, moody teenager to a sleepy kid, who staggered on his feet and let his eyelids droop. "Do you need somewhere to sleep?" he offered, against his better judgment.

He started walking away from Harry, and he kicked around some leaves into a sloppy pile. "I was thinking right here," he told him, pointing at the lump of rotting plants.

"Are you serious? The forest is one of the most dangerous places to sleep. They have giant spiders and centaurs and who knows what else," Harry cried as the boy began to flop down on the ground. "You won't wake up if you sleep out here!"

Nico heaved a huge sigh. "Well, I don't see anywhere else to sleep."

"What about a castle?" Harry suggested, pointing at the tallest tower of Hogwarts that was barely visible through the trees.

And that was how he found the two of them huddled under the cloak, hurrying back through the secret passage that let them out right next to the Griffyndor commons. Harry yanked the cloak off and glanced up at the Fat Lady, who was snoring peacefully in her frame. Nico studied her, raising an eyebrow.

"That's quite a sight," he said, looking at Harry.

Suddenly, a ghost surged out of nowhere. It was the Fat Friar, Harry realized, and the Friar chortled with delight. "Students out after hours," he said, a teasing tone to his voice. "I'll let it slide this once, but if it happens again I'll have no choice but to..."

There wasn't much color left in the ghost's face, but what was there drained away as the Friar's gaze fell on Nico. Nico glanced away awkwardly.

"My lord," he said, flinging himself to the ground. Harry gaped. He had never seen a ghost act like this before. The ghost was actually bowing and scraping at Nico's feet.

"Stupid ghost," Nico muttered, and the Friar raised his head, terrified. "Just get out of here already." A crack opened in the floor and the Friar was sucked through, his mouth in an 'O' of horror. "Well, that thing's been banished, you don't have to worry about it ratting you out anymore." Nico said this so matter of factly that Harry had a hard time believing he had just seen it. A ghost had just disappeared in terror! He had seen a lot of weird stuff since discovering he was a wizard, but this definitely ranked among the strangest. The crack sealed itself back up.

Harry dropped the cloak and began feeling the ground, but it was like the fissure had never been there. "What did you do that for?" he asked. "That's the Hufflepuff house ghost! They'll notice it's gone for sure!"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Nobody can escape death for long. Eventually, it will catch up with you. Daedalus got away with it for a few thousand years, but in the end even he died."

Harry didn't know who Daedalus was, but he didn't like the idea of Voldemort terrorizing innocent people for a few thousand years.

"Alright, you seem like the kind of kid who'll get into trouble soon," Nico added, digging in his pockets for something. "That death thing you'll be dealing with in the future will probably require some more help from me. So take this." He handed Harry a golden coin that had what looked like an ancient Greek temple stamped on one side. "It'll help you get in contact with me. Just make a rainbow somehow and throw it through, then say—and be polite—'O Goddess, please accept my offering'. Then say 'Show me Nico di Angelo' and you can talk to me. Just keep it safe for now."

Harry got the feeling Nico was about to leave. He glanced up at him. "Aren't you staying for a the night?"

Nico shook his head, folding his arms. "I hate it when ghosts act like that. There's _no_ way I am sleeping in a building infested with them. I'm just going to sleep in my cabin. By the way, what is up with this place? It's like something is trying to keep me from shadow traveling here."

"Hogwarts has the strongest defenses anywhere you'll find in the magical world," Harry explained, wondering if Nico had accidentally stranded himself in the castle.

He shrugged. "Whatever." It was then that Harry realized he had his cloak draped over one of his thin arms. Harry reached out a hand to snatch away the cloak, but Nico was too fast. He vanished where he stood, seeming to melt into Harry's long shadow.

Then Harry was left in the hallway, with nothing but a gold coin in his hands, his invisibility cloak stolen. He seethed to himself quietly. How could he have trusted Nico like that? The kid had clearly proven himself to be a nutter at Grimmauld Place. It would have followed that his insanity had only gotten worse as the months dragged on. And now he had taken the cloak, his most useful tool and his dad's last gift to him.

Uneasily, Harry looked back at the place where Nico had stood. If Nico could travel in and out of Hogwarts as he pleased, he must have gotten a lot more powerful than the last time he'd been around. The thought of Nico popping in anywhere he wanted to go, invisible and completely mad was extremely unsettling.

Behind him, someone barked, "Potter! Out after hours?" He jumped and spun around. Professor Snape was standing almost directly behind him, and he wondered how he had snuck up so quietly. "That's fifty points from Griffyndor. And another week of detention with Professor Umbridge."

"You can't tell her I was out," he said, somewhat desperately. "I'll be expelled." He realized that maybe Snape didn't exactly care about whether or not he was still at Hogwarts. Still, as a member of the Order, maybe he would help.

His lip curled, like he relished the idea, but he said in a disappointed voice, "She'll think you've merely been spreading more lies about the Dark Lord returning. I think she'll believe that story readily enough."

Harry burned with hatred as he realized that Snape knew exactly what he had been doing as detentions for Umbridge. "Thank you, _sir_," he choked out, before slipping inside the common room.

Miserably, he sank into a fluffy arm chair and examined his hand, which was only mostly healed by now. By the dim light of the fire he could still read the message she had forced him to scrawl into his own flesh for hours. He gritted his teeth. It still stung. Harry stuffed it into his pocket to keep it out of his sight.

"Harry," a sudden voice said, and Harry glanced up, shocked. No one else was around. "In the fire."

Harry peered down and saw Sirius's grinning face. "It's you!" he cried. "I have to tell you something. Nico was just here!"

As he relayed the whole story to Sirius, his easy smile began to fade until his face was almost frightened. When he added how Nico had stolen the cloak, Sirius scowled. "If you see Nico again, don't go near him. And don't call him with that coin, either. He gave me one, as well."

Harry nodded. Sirius looked just as disturbed by the whole situation as he did. Neither of them relished the thought of facing Nico. On that grim note, Sirius yanked his head back out of the fire and Harry was left staring into the flames broodingly.

* * *

><p>AN: I am SO SORRY that this took so long to post! I accidentally crashed the computer. I really didn't get any chance to write until yesterday, and the computer wasn't fixed until today.

Related to the story, I wondered if it was really a good idea to send Nico to Hogwarts after reading so many fics where PJO characters came to Hogwarts, and I really want to make this one different. But I think it is important to the plot line, for reasons that will eventually come into play later, so I'm keeping it. Also, I thought about taking out meeting the strangers in McDonalds as well, but I think that it shows how Nico has progressed with his trust issues, so it stays as well.

I only have two more weeks before I go to camp for a month, and I'm hoping to finish before then. Please review! Hopefully I'll post a new chapter within two or three days!


	6. Chapter 6

Percy rolled out of bed in his cabin and groaned. A quick check of his watch and he knew he had overslept so drastically, he had missed breakfast. His stomach growled, and he longingly gazed at the dining pavilion. Unfortunately, there was a good hour and a half until lunch.

He staggered around, partially blinded by the light that was streaming through his windows, and found a pair of jeans that he thought were mostly clean. Yes, he reassured himself, this one had the hole in the knee and he knew he had just washed those... a week ago.

Okay, maybe it was time to do a little laundry.

His orange camp shirt was slightly fresher, having taken a swim in it just the other day, and he pulled that over his head. By now, Nico should be awake. It had been about four months after he had gone to help him out in London, and Nico had started really withdraw. He was hardly around camp anymore, and was practically constantly shadow traveling. Percy wasn't sure if it was something to do with trying to get somewhere or trying to get away from here, but whenever he saw Nico, he made an effort to include him. The kid needed somewhere he could call home.

As he brushed his teeth, Percy glanced out the window of his cabin. The black Hades cabin wasn't in the U shape that formed the twelve Olympians' cabin ring, but it was built almost right behind his. The lights were out, but Percy wasn't sure if that meant he was outside or still asleep. What with his shadow traveling into different time zones every day, Nico was jet lagged almost all of the time. Spitting toothpaste into the sink, Percy ran a hand through his hair in hopes that it wouldn't look exactly like he just got out of bed, and then jogged out the door.

When he knocked on Nico's door, no one answered. Cautiously, Percy pushed open the door. The Hades cabin had black walls and an eerie green skull affixed to one wall. Six empty bunks lined the room, only one of which looked used. On a shelf next to it, there were a few things—Nico's Hades Mythomagic statue was the most prominent of them. Percy smiled sadly and crouched down before it. The figurine had so much misery and despair attached to it. He almost wished Nico would throw it away. But that was wrong of him to ask, Nico had nothing but this left of his sister—the sister Percy was supposed to protect for him. In a way, he was responsible for her death.

Percy stood up. Nico clearly wasn't in this cabin. He probably was out shadow traveling. Percy probably wouldn't see him until later, maybe even tomorrow. If he hurried, he could still get in on some good training before lunch. Actually, he should probably work on his Ancient Greek. While he could understand it and speak it subconsciously, Annabeth was always hounding him to get a better grip on it. And he always liked it when Annabeth was happy with him.

He had the textbook back in his cabin. As much as it irked him to be inside, _reading,_ on a day like today with the sun high and the lake just calling his name, Percy knew that pretty much every day at camp was like that. Percy crossed the grass back to his door.

Surprisingly, the door was open but someone had drawn the blinds. He stepped inside, wondering who would have entered his cabin without permission. Annabeth would have no reason to do so and just looked for him elsewhere. Someone was lying in one of the extra beds. Percy's eyes adjusted to the dark cabin and he was able to make out Nico's thin form.

Nico had flung himself onto a bed, probably exhausted after some wild shadow trip around the world. He must have arrived shortly after Percy left. After being in the Hades cabin, Percy could easily understand why he didn't want to stay there very long. Nico hadn't even crawled under the covers before passing out. He had something clutched in his twig-like arms, a fabric that was slightly shimmering. Percy reached out a hand hesitantly to touch it, and then pulled his arm back. It could be something Nico didn't want him to know about. Instead, he pulled a blanket over his cousin. He could wake him up in time for lunch.

For now, he would sit in the doorway and watch out for his cousin. Percy grabbed the heavy book and held it in a beam of light that came under the awning. While he wasn't too big on reading, someone needed to keep an eye on Nico. And he wondered if anyone else would do it.

* * *

><p>Nico woke up to someone shaking him gently. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Five more minutes," he mumbled, and Percy's quiet laughter reached his ears.<p>

"Come on," Percy coaxed. "It's time for lunch. Aren't you hungry?"

That got his attention. He sat up and his stomach grumbled appreciatively of Percy's suggestion. "What are you doing here?" Nico started to ask, but then he remembered in his half-asleep state, failing to arrive in his cabin and not having the energy to head over there. The dark, dank cabin sometimes felt more like a cell than a cabin, and it took a lot of motivation to even go inside. Instead, he had pushed open Percy's door and thrown himself into the closest bed.

"You're the one in my cabin, cous'," Percy pointed out, giving him a lopsided smile. "Besides, I figured you might want some company when you woke up, and you would have slept through lunch otherwise."

Nico shrugged indifferently, but inwardly he was pleased that Percy had cared enough to wake him up, and watch him while he slept.

"So what is it you picked up there?" Percy asked carefully, gesturing to Nico's, erm, _borrowed _invisibility cloak.

Nico jumped up, eager to show off the cool thing. "It's like Annabeth's hat," he explained, wrapping it around him. The cloak pooled at his feet, much too big for him. He glanced down, but from the neck down he was invisible. Then he peered back up at Percy, whose jaw had dropped.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, shocked.

Nico grinned, delighted by Percy's stunned face. "I, ahem, borrowed it from that Harry kid. I was visiting him last night! Or, I guess, a few hours ago... time zones are so weird." But Percy's smile was slowly slipping away, and Nico wondered what was wrong.

"I don't know, Nico," he said slowly. "Stealing is wrong. I think you should give it back to the kid."

Nico frowned. "But I need it for what I want to do today." He wanted to pay Sirius a visit. But he couldn't exactly walk into Number 12 and be spotted. They'd put him back in that room in a flash.

"Why didn't you just ask to borrow Annabeth's hat?" Percy asked.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Because... I didn't think she'd give it to me." He dropped his gaze to the floor, feeling Percy's sympathetic gaze on him. "Look, this is better. I wanted us both to go, and we can use the cloak for that."

Percy nodded slowly. "But return it when we're done."

Nico stared at the floor, ashamed. "Okay."

Percy messed up his hair in that protective, brotherly gesture he always seemed to do. "Come on, let's get some lunch."

Obediently, Nico followed Percy up to the dining pavilion where there were already platters of food set out. He picked up two burgers and plenty of french fries, and tossed half into the flames next to the Hades table. Then he sat down quickly. Percy was taking a bit longer, arguing with a camper about who should get the last slice of pepperoni pizza.

Something gooey landed in his hair. Disgusted and miserable, Nico reached a hand up to pull whatever it was out. A big gob of melted cheese, most likely from the pizza, was stuck to him. He yanked it out to the best of his ability, but his head still felt greasy and disgusting.

Suddenly, Percy was next to him. Nico sank lower in his seat. He didn't want him to realize he was being bullied. But Percy was having none of it. "Who threw that?" he asked dangerously.

The Ares table, which was right next to them, got very quiet. Percy fixed them with a menacing glare. "And what if I did?" asked a snobby Ares camper.

Percy was giving off a more frightening aura than Nico had ever released in his life. Nico watched the Ares camper shrivel up, realizing exactly who Percy was. The hero of Olympus, the bearer of Achilles curse, Percy Jackson. "Apologize," he ordered.

"I'm sorry," the camper muttered, not looking in the least bit apologetic. "Happy?"

"Yeah," Percy snapped, sitting down right next to Nico.

Nico stared.

"What?" he asked.

"This isn't your table," Nico told him. As if that needed to be said.

"Well, I'm eating here today," Percy said. "Do you not want me to eat here?"

"No," Nico said quickly, "It's fine."

Percy nodded. "Glad to hear it."

Nico glanced at the head table. Chiron was watching Percy with a hesitant expression on, but eventually nodded and returned to his salad. The rest of the meal passed in silence, with Percy making the occasional remark about how cool the cloak was or asking him about his latest trips. Nico hoped he wasn't boring Percy to death. He knew he wasn't the most interesting person in the world, but he was failing to make even simple conversation. And Nico really didn't want Percy to dislike him. He was like his big brother. He just wanted him to like him, too.

* * *

><p>Percy and Nico stood in Percy's cabin. Nico shook out the cloak and held it out for them both to get under. A growing sense of unease filled the pit of Percy's chest. "I don't know if this is such a hot idea anymore, Nico," Percy said. "The first thing they'll do when they see you is most likely stun you and lock you up."<p>

"This is why they won't see me," Nico replied, shaking the cloak impatiently. He had such a confident grin on his face. "And Sirius would never lock me up, which is why we'll only let him see us."

Percy wasn't quite as sure about the trustworthiness of Nico's new friend as he was, but he nodded and reluctantly stepped underneath the silky cloak. It was soft to the touch and felt like running water on his skin. Something about looking down and not seeing himself there really was strange. How could Annabeth wear that cap all the time? Being disembodied was just weird. Nico seemed to have no such qualms, and he grabbed Percy's arm. "Ready? Here we go..." he muttered, closing his eyes. Suddenly, they were flying through open space in a black void. Percy understood why Nico had shut his eyes. The shadow realm was disturbingly empty and frightening in that way. Even though they didn't have anything flying past to show him how fast they were going, Percy felt the cloak being torn away by the high speed. He gripped it tightly. How he would explain to that Harry kid that they lost his cloak in an endless void of shadows and death was beyond him.

The two of them appeared right in the front hall of the old house. Someone had been cleaning, Percy could tell. The building was much less dusty since the last time he had been there. He could see through into the kitchen, where large watermarks still stained the walls from his visit. Percy bit back a laugh.

Beside him, Nico drew in a breath. Sitting at the kitchen table was Sirius, sipping his coffee and reading a paper, looking bored. Percy realized that he hadn't noticed their arrival and still couldn't see them. "Sirius!" Nico cried, tearing off the cloak.

So much for making sure no one else was home. Percy smacked his forehead and pulled the cloak off of him, too. "Hello," he greeted.

Sirius was out of his seat instantly, at first a little wary looking but he masked it with a smile. "Nico?" he asked, his voice mostly shocked and not anywhere as eager as Nico's had been. Nico stopped, hearing the tone. This was not the warm reception he had been hoping for, Percy knew. Instead, Sirius seemed almost afraid. "And Percy, how nice. You wouldn't happen to have my godson's invisibility cloak, would you?" Now he sounded almost accusatory.

Nico stared at his feet. "Sorry," he mumbled. Percy wondered how long they had before Sirius just threw them out.

"Not to ruin your reunion," Percy said, "but are you alone? We don't want Nico getting locked back up again."

Sirius nodded. "No one else is here. But I doubt it would be an issue. If Nico got in, he can get out. You've been practicing, haven't you?"

Nico nodded. Percy realized that they had indeed come in the house without having any trouble. Nico had ignored whatever barrier had kept him inside last time. "I'm a lot better now," he said, yawning and stretching. "Do you have any coffee? I just woke up."

Sirius glanced at the clock, and Percy realized it was actually really, really late there. They had taken so long, what with him letting Nico nap and eat lunch. If it had been late when Nico left Europe before, it was now three AM in London. "Bit of an odd sleeping schedule you've got there," he said, but turned to the kitchen. "I'll heat up a pot for us."

"Thank you," Percy said, sitting down at the table. He glanced at the nasty watermarks on the wall. If he squinted, they almost looked like a skull. Now _that_ was a nice memento of Nico. A few moments later, Sirius was handing them both coffee mugs. Nico drained his in one gulp, while Percy let his sit. He had never been a fan of drinks aside from water, really. Sure, Coca Cola was delicious, and he always loved to drink camp's special blue Coke, but nothing revitalized him like water. It probably came from being Poseidon's kid and all.

"You'll stunt your growth if you keep drinking coffee like that," Sirius said, refilling Nico's cup nonetheless. He was still watching them both like a caged animal. Nico seemed slightly hurt still, but he was covering it up well. "Harry'll probably want that back," he said. Nico cringed. "There's a lot going on at his school right now." And he proceeded to tell them about how Harry's school was basically being controlled by an old nasty hag named Umbridge, and how she kept giving him detentions. Then he explained about the evilest wizard ever returning from the dead, which interested Nico a bit, and how the world was denying everything.

"Nobody can come back from the dead," Nico told him when they were done. "Orpheus tried to bring someone back, but he failed. It can't be done." Sirius gave him a strange look.

"Why do you always talk about death?" Sirius asked. "Harry noticed it a few hours ago, too. It's like you understand it so well, it's odd."

Nico shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I've dealt with it a lot," he said. Then he stood up. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"You know where it is," Sirius said, a bit obnoxiously.

As soon as Nico was gone, Percy leaned over the table and said in a quiet but angry voice, "Do you have to bully the kid? He has enough trust issues as it is." Sirius was done messing with his cousin.

Sirius gave him a wide eyed look. "What? Me, bully a little boy? What kind of a person do you think I am?" But he was clearly uneasy.

"What happened that made you so afraid of Nico?"

"Nothing," Sirius insisted. "I'm not afraid of him. It's just... Harry was really disturbed by him, and he actually destroyed a ghost at his school, and he told him someone he knew was going to die, and that he had death embedded in his forehead."

"Well, then he probably does," Percy said, narrowing his eyes at Sirius. "Nico doesn't lie about that kind of stuff."

"How could he know it's true?" Sirius demanded. "He couldn't possibly know!"

"Nico knows," Percy said. "Listen, cut him some slack. He doesn't know most of his past, he spent around sixty years locked inside a crazy time warp casino, and he has had to deal with this whole 'ghost king' thing, and he gets no support from his dad, who always compares him to his dead sister. Plus he doesn't have a mom and is constantly bullied at the only place he can call home. So, lay off."

Sirius blinked once, startled. "Oh," he said.

"Yeah," Percy said, a bit out of breath. He had said the whole speech in just one breath, and now he wondered if it had been a good idea to tell Sirius all of this.

"So, he's like... seventy something?" Sirius asked.

Percy cracked a grin. "I spew all of that information out at you, and _that's _the one detail you grab? Yes, Nico is about seventy four. But he has the body and mind of a fourteen year old, so don't treat him like a grandpa." Maybe he could appreciate his cousin's best friend a little more.

Sirius sipped his coffee. "I have another question, too. You may remember that when we were back here about four months ago, everyone kept firing curses and jinxes at you, but they kept bouncing off. What happened? Why did none of the curses work on you?"

Percy glanced at the table and scratched it with his nail. It was hard to approach this subject. "I'm basically invulnerable," he said. "Sort of like Achilles from the ancient Greek myths, I guess you could compare it to."

"Sorry, I'm unfamiliar with Muggle mythology," Sirius said.

"Muggle?" Percy asked, confused. He frowned.

"Oh, non-magical person. Most of the world's population, really."

"Oh." Percy paused. "Okay. Well, when Achilles was a baby, his mother dipped him in the River Styx—and when you get touched by the water, you become invincible. Spears, arrows, you name it—it all bounced off of him. But she held him by his heel when she did that, so that one little bit of him wasn't invincible. He was the best fighter in the world, because nothing could hurt him, but one day an enemy snuck up on him and shot a poisoned arrow into his heel. And that killed him."

"So that's why they have the Achilles heel metaphor?" Sirius asked. "Interesting. But this never really happened."

Percy hesitated. "Well, that's the common belief." He dodged answering that one specifically.

"And where does your invincibility stem from?" Sirius asked, but just then Nico reentered the room. "Hello, Nico," Sirius said, in a much more cheery tone. Nico glanced at Percy in confusion, clearly thrown for a loop. "Want some cookies? They're kind of old and stale now, but cookies are cookies."

"Okay?" he said, like it was a question. Sirius got up and started rifling through the pantry. A few moments later he returned with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Percy nibbled on the corner of one to be polite, but they were about as hard as concrete. To his surprise, Nico was munching through them contentedly. He didn't seem to be spitting out teeth, either, although the cookies were making a frightening cracking noise every time he bit into one.

Suddenly, the front door opened and Sirius called out, "Who's there?" in a cold voice. He drew his wand.

"It's me, Sirius," Moody said. He began hobbling down the hall but stopped, and a door opened, presumably a closet. "Where are you?"

"The living room," Sirius lied, motioning frantically for them to get back under the invisibility cloak. Percy hauled Nico up and threw the cloak over the both of them, dragging him towards the corner. Nico snatched one last cookie off the table.

"No, you're not," Moody said, coming into the kitchen. "I'm not a fool." He glanced towards the corner where Nico and Percy were huddled, and for a frightening moment, Percy thought he could see them. Then he glanced away, his false eye whizzing in its socket and Percy let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Why do you have three cups on the table?" he asked, scowling at Nico's coffee mug.

"I was getting ready for you and Tonks to get off work," Sirius lied smoothly.

"Why are they half empty and cold, then?" Moody demanded, and Percy was sure they were about to be caught. His hand drifted towards Riptide, but then he rethought it. He would only be making trouble for Sirius if they appeared now.

"Because I ran out of coffee halfway through pouring them and need to make a new pot," Sirius said. "Honestly, you're so suspicious of everything, Moody. Do you think I'm harboring criminals or something?"

"Funny," Moody grunted. "Considering Sirius Black is talking."

Sirius bristled and turned away. "Make your own coffee," he said.

Percy wanted to ask what was going on, but Nico grabbed his arm and hauled him into the black shadow world. His stomach churned violently. That was something he would have to be prepared for next time. When they landed back in Percy's cabin, Percy turned to Nico and demanded, "What was that all about?"

Nico dropped his head. "Sirius told me that he was a wanted criminal, but he didn't commit the crime he was imprisoned for."

"What crime was he imprisoned for?" Percy asked, a bit worried.

Nico stared up at him. "Murder."

Percy stared at his friend in shock. "What?"

"No, he didn't do it. It was another guy, he was framed. Haven't you ever seen a cop show, Percy?" Nico said. "He didn't do it!"

Percy turned away and ran a hand through his hair. "I just ate a wanted murderer's cookies. That has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever done." While Nico broke into a grin, convinced his cousin was now okay with his choice of friends, Percy was far from okay with it. His best friend was a convicted murderer. That was just wrong on so many levels. What if he started rubbing off on Nico?

Then again, Nico would really be much more likely to rub off on him. It was sad, but he knew Nico didn't exactly have it easy all the time and had killed plenty of monsters. As far as he knew, Nico hadn't killed any humans yet, but he was worried that as Nico grew older, he'd only slip more towards insanity.

Nico held up the cloak. "I know I should bring this back to Harry," he said, slightly sadly, but Percy smiled and shook his head.

"I think the kid can survive for one day without his cloak," Percy said. "You don't have to return it right now. Besides, he's probably sleeping. You'd just freak him out if you woke him up in the middle of the night."

Nico perked up considerably at the thought of getting to keep the invisibility cloak for another day. "Sooo... how long do I get to have it for?"

Percy shrugged. He really shouldn't encourage this kind of behavior, as he was probably the closest thing Nico had to a good role model, but the cloak was really cool. And it was just the kind of thing Nico could use to keep safe from any bullies or whatever. "Return it whenever you feel like it's a good time. Does he have any way to get in contact with you?"

"I gave him a drachma," Nico said. Percy smiled. That was good, now it wasn't totally like he had stolen his cloak with no way for him to ever get it back. "I told him that when people around him start dying, to get in contact with me and we'll talk."

That was less good. The poor Harry kid was probably way too freaked out to even look at the drachma, as he had been told that it would be useful when people he knew started dying. "We should call him and let him know it's safe and that we'll bring it back," Percy said, but he really didn't want to. The cloak was beyond awesome. Nico had wrapped it around his shoulders and was now nothing but a floating head in the middle of the room. He took a few steps and his head bobbled a little bit as it moved. "Actually, you know what? Let's not do it just yet," Percy said, and Nico gave him a sly grin. "Can I try it?"

* * *

><p>The sound of maniacal laughter filled the house. Sirius hurried down the stairs and peered into the drawing room, almost worried about what he would find. To his surprise and relief, it was nothing but Kreacher, rocking back and forth in front of the fire place. Then a wave of suspicion and fear drew over him. Kreacher, laughing? Something was obviously wrong. "What happened just now, Kreacher?" Sirius demanded, grabbing his miserable house elf by the shoulder. Kreacher stopped laughing and glared at him like he was the foulest thing he had ever seen on the face of the planet.<p>

"Nothing happened in the house, master," Kreacher spat, twisting under his iron grip. "Nothing has happened."

"I order you to tell me what happened just now," Sirius snarled, shaking Kreacher hard. The house elf's head rattled back and forth, but Kreacher merely stared up at him in silence.

Then his eyes began to twitch after about ten seconds of silence, and he said, very quickly and very quietly, "The filthy mudblood loving Potter boy came to see if you were here and Kreacher told him that you were gone, which Kreacher wishes very much you were. He now thinks you're being tortured by the Dark Lord." Kreacher dropped his voice to a mutter, as if Sirius couldn't hear him. "Kreacher wishes his master would be tortured something awful."

Sirius threw the house elf to the floor in a rage and flew up the flight of stairs to his bedroom. That was where he had left the golden coin Percy had given him to call if he needed it, tucked safely under the mattress. He tore first the blankets and then the whole mattress off his bed, but the coin had vanished. He dropped and looked underneath the bed, but it wasn't there either. Frantically, Sirius began yanking drawers open and throwing furniture out of the way to look behind it, but the coin had as good as disappeared.

As he stood in the room, panting hard and dread filling him up, he heard Kreacher come muttering up the stairs and try and slip past his room. "Traitor master will not find his coin, no matter how hard he looks," Kreacher was cackling softly, obviously not realizing he was speaking out loud. Furiously, Sirius stomped out. If he had ever wanted to hit his house elf, now was the time. Kreacher glanced at him and started to sidle away quickly, obviously expecting him to kick him over the banister and fall three floors to his death.

"What did you do with the coin, Kreacher?" Sirius asked, his voice surprisingly soft and calm to him. Inside, he was a ball of fury, but somehow his words were collected and not the least bit menacing.

Kreacher obviously heard the change in his tone and glanced at him, startled. "Kreacher has thrown it out with the rest of the garbage," Kreacher replied. Then he Disapparated before Sirius really could fling him down the stairs.

Sirius wanted to scream. He punched the wall and an ancient painting depicting dark wizards sacrificing something foul fell to the ground, the frame cracking. He needed Nico's help, but he was all alone. The drachma was gone, and Harry was in trouble.

Everything was falling apart.

* * *

><p>AN: I AM SO SORRY! I didn't mean to take this long to update, but I got this horrible virus on my computer, again, and then I got it on my brother's computer when he said I could use it to update, and then my parents didn't trust me with any of their laptops so I've basically been sitting around the house with no purpose in life since the last update. Can you ever forgive me?

Please review, even if it's just to spit your fury and rage at me for my terrible updating schedule. I'll accept your anger, because I totally deserve it. TT_TT


	7. Chapter 7

Sirius took a deep breath. Time to calm down and think about the situation logically. He still had the Order, and he didn't just need Nico's help. Although he knew the boy would without a doubt be able to help, the Order was who he could contact. He drew his wand, prepared to send his patronus as a messenger to Lupin.

Suddenly, someone from behind him called, "Sirius!"

Sirius spun around and yelled, "Stupefy!" before looking at his assailant, but the jet of light merely shot through their face. He realized it was Nico and Percy after a moment, but they were shimmering in mid air. "What—how are you...?" Sirius realized they weren't visible from shoulders down. "What happened to your bodies?" he asked.

Nico smiled, looking highly relieved. "Thank the gods you're safe," he said. "We're not actually here. This is an Iris message. These are the kind of calls you can make with the coin I left you." Sirius examined the shining patch a bit more closely and realized that it did indeed have edges and he could see behind Nico and Percy as well, into a cabin with green walls. A bunk bed was visible behind them.

Percy pushed his head into the front of the shimmering screen. "Listen, Harry just got in contact with us. He said you had been kidnapped. Is everything okay?"

Sirius shook his head. "I'm fine," he explained. "Harry's not. He's walking straight into a trap." He explained all about the prophecy and the secret meetings that the Order had been having in about three minutes before Percy held up his hand.

"Can you tell us how to get to this Department of Mysteries?" he asked.

Sirius shook his head. "The only time I was ever inside the Ministry of Magic was when I was being put on trial, and it's common procedure to put a bag over a particularly violent and dangerous criminal's head in case he's powerful enough to not need a wand."

"You don't always need wands?" Nico asked, confused.

"Only really powerful wizards can do without. You can channel magic through anything, including a teapot or a finger, but it's a lot harder than using a wand. But can we please focus on the issue at hand?" Sirius begged. Time was running out for Harry. He wondered how long it would take before his godson threw himself straight into the hands of Voldemort.

Giving him the thumbs up, Percy said, "We'll be right over. Just let us grab some lethal weapons. Get all the allies you can, I'll see if any of our friends want to come." He raised his hand, and Sirius thought for a moment he was going to try and hit him through the message. "We're disconnecting now," he added, and then he swept his hand through the mist that had hung in the hallway. It cleared up, swirling away into nothingness.

Sirius smiled, a bit more relieved. He knew it was foolish to rely on two kids like this, but he felt that they could really be of a lot of help. Percy was invincible, after all, and Nico could do that menacing shadow thing... If they were against a Death Eater, Sirius had a feeling they could hold their own. He closed his eyes and thought about the first time he had been able to talk to Harry again. The memory was bittersweet, considering that at the time Harry thought that he was a psychopathic murderer and about to kill them, too, but it was so good to see his godson after all that time. He didn't care if Harry hated him. He truly was Lily and James' child, as anyone could plainly see. The affection he had for his old friends had made him feel as light as he ever had been. Then he opened his eyes, savoring that moment of joy. _"Expecto patronum!"_ he cried, and a large black dog exploded from the tip of his wand. "Tell the members of the Order that Harry is in trouble and they need to meet at Headquarters as soon as possible," Sirius ordered. He had never done the whole patronus messenger thing before, but he hoped that it had worked right.

Within the hour, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and a few other members had arrived. It wasn't as many as he had been hoping for, and Nico and Percy were still nowhere to be found. Moody was checking his pocket watch and tapping his real foot impatiently. "We can't wait any more, Black," he growled at Sirius.

"Just a few more minutes," he pleaded. "We'll go in two minutes. Let's give any other members time to arrive." Sirius hadn't been quite sure how to broach the subject that he had invited Percy and Nico to join them on the rescue mission, so he had just figured that they could help him out when they got there.

Suddenly, one of the floorboards creaked behind them. Everyone spun around and aimed their wands at the intruders, but it was just Percy and Nico, who were standing in the corner of the room. With them was a blond girl with stunning gray eyes that were full of cold intelligence. "Nico!" Lupin cried, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"We're going to help," Nico said. "You've met Percy," he added, gesturing to his cousin. "This is Annabeth. She's a really good fighter."

Sirius held his breath and looked at Moody, who seemed to be considering it. "I don't like it," he grunted. Then he paused. "But you're not too bad, kid. I know you came to visit Sirius. I listened in on your conversation." Sirius felt like a naughty little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Moody knew the whole time? "You seem trustworthy and we could always use an invulnerable guy backing us up."

Annabeth interrupted, which didn't make Moody look too happy. "Do you have a knife I could borrow?" she asked. "This one doesn't cut mortals very well."

Moody gave her a skeptical false eye roll, which was unsettling to anyone who looked at it. Annabeth met his gaze and didn't change her expression. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged. "It just passes straight through humans, which is who I expect we'll be dealing with. And I don't have umbrakinesis like Nico here, so I kind of need a pointy object to help with." Sirius wasn't entirely sure what umbrakinesis was, but Nico pointed his finger at Moody and his shadow twisted off the ground, which gave him a pretty good idea.

Tonks turned to the kitchen. _"Accio knife,"_ she called, waving her wand. A sharp kitchen knife flew out of a drawer and towards them. "Eep!" Tonks ducked out of the way of the blade, which was heading straight towards them. Annabeth, however, snaked out her hand and caught it mid air. She examined it. The wooden handle didn't seem quite to her liking, but she just shrugged and tucked it in her belt.

"So how will we be getting there?" she asked. "Nico can't possibly shadow travel the whole group there without fainting." Nico shot her a glare that suggested he thought otherwise. Or maybe he just didn't like being undermined in front of other people.

"We'll be Apparating," Moody informed her. "You three don't have wands, do you? Grab on to a member of the Order and don't let go." Nico grabbed Sirius's sleeve and gave him a weak smile, which seemed to be his way of reassuring him. Sirius didn't feel much better. Annabeth clamped down on Lupin's shoulder, and Percy grasped Tonks by the wrist. With a pop, Sirius watched Moody Disapparate, and he followed suit, keeping a tight grip on Nico with his free hand. The last thing he wanted to do was drop him or get him splinched along the trip. When they landed in the hallway that was outside the Department of Mysteries, Nico wasn't looking too good. He was paler than usual and breathing hard.

"That was horrific," he said. Percy too, was slightly sick looking. Oddly enough, Annabeth was the only one completely composed. Even her blond curls were still perfect, and her eyes hadn't changed in the slightest.

"That's Apparating for you. Now, everyone follow closely and pay attention to which doors we take from now on," Moody said brusquely. "We may have to retrace our steps a few times, as the Department was created to be a confusing maze for any intruders." He pushed open the door and Sirius stepped inside.

He had never been in this part of the Ministry before. The room had black bricks and little lighting, and the wall was lined with doors. It was a circular room, which struck him as odd. Behind them, the door slammed shut and they had nowhere to go but further into the room. As they began trying doors, they realized that they had no idea which door they had come in anymore.

"We could be trying doors all night," Tonks said, thinking out loud. Sirius pounded a fist against the wall in a rage.

"What are you talking about?" Nico asked. They all looked at him. "It's this door." He pointed at a door that was on the opposite wall from them.

"What?" Lupin was clearly confused. "How do you know?"

Nico seemed uncomfortable with all the attention. Everyone was staring at him now, except for Percy and Annabeth, who were striding across the floor towards that door. "The promise of death and destruction is definitely behind this door," he told them, following his friends to the door. "Not real death yet, but I figure that sounds like someplace we ought to be heading towards."

"He could be referring to the prophecies. I'm sure lots of them have death and destruction involves," Lupin said quietly to Moody, but loud enough that Sirius was able to hear.

"He could be wrong," Moody shot back, but Sirius and Tonks were now joining the kids at the door.

"Think you can lead us all the way there?" Tonks asked, pulling the door open and walking through. Nico nodded seriously and began hurrying down the passage. The Order had to pick up the pace in order to keep up. Suddenly Nico hung a sharp left and changed course. He led them for about ten minutes through the maze of twists and turns within the Department before coming to a stop in front of an old door. To their surprise, the door was open and Dumbledore was striding through it. Somehow he had beat them there, even though they had seen no sign of him the whole time.

"Oh, you arrived much faster than I expected," he said when he saw them. Annabeth went for her knife, obviously suspicious of the powerful old wizard, but Moody grabbed her wrist. "I was going to hurry to the rescue, but I'm so glad you could join me."

Sirius followed the wizard into the room, where Harry and his friends were obviously losing badly. Hermione and Ron were nowhere to be found, a boy was lying on the ground bleeding from his nose and mouth, and Harry was squaring off with three Death Eaters on his own. _"Stupefy!"_ he roared, shooting a spell directly into the Death Eaters. One of them dropped to the floor.

"Where are the others?" Tonks asked.

"There are other kids here?" Annabeth asked, looking assertive and confident. Tonks nodded as she began shooting hexes and the like at the Death Eaters. They were fleeing back down a flight of stairs, and she looked like she wanted to chase them. "We'll handle that. Percy, you and I will go find and help the other kids. Nico, you follow Sirius and help there." She paused and gave Percy a quick peck on the cheek. "Just in case."

"We're not going to die," Percy told her confidently, but there was a slight note of concern in his voice now. "Right?"

"Of course," Annabeth replied, pulling out a baseball cap from her back pocket. "Athena always has a plan." Then she put on the hat and literally vanished. Sirius stood there a moment, stunned by her disappearance, but Percy had gone running off towards an open door and was presumably being followed by Annabeth. Nico had already begun to pursue the Death Eaters into the large room, and Sirius had no time to waste.

Harry was in trouble.

* * *

><p>Percy and Annabeth split at the first intersection. Percy had been intending to stay with her, as they had no idea how many of these guys there were going to be, but he heard the sound of frantic yelling coming from one end of the hallway and a scream for help coming from the other end. Annabeth took off the hat long enough to point out which way she was going. "Good luck, Seaweed Brain," she told him, before vanishing once more and taking off.<p>

Percy nodded and ran towards where the increasingly nerve wracking yells were coming from. He burst through a door and drew Riptide. Rows and rows of tanks full of weird creatures lined the walls. A red haired boy with a large squid-y thing attached to his head was on the ground, in trouble, and a blond girl lay on the floor with her arm bent in the wrong direction. Next to him, some guy in a weird mask was aiming a stick at his chest. Percy got the feeling this was a really bad situation and he raised Riptide. Then he did the only thing he could think of. "Hey, ugly," he shouted.

The guy looked up and instantly aimed his stick at Percy. _"Avada kedavra,"_ he yelled at Percy. The green jet of light did nothing to Percy but bounce off and dissipate in the corner. Just as expected. Percy ran at him, raising his sword. The man kept shooting spells at him, but they had the same effect—nothing. He was about three steps away from him when he realized that his only weapon wouldn't hurt mortals.

So he did the natural thing. He raised his hand and the glass on the tanks shattered, temporarily distracting the guy from firing anymore useless spells at him. Then the water spilled out and began to snake around the man's body, tying him up like a big rope.

His enemy incapacitated, Percy turned to the kid on the ground. "Let him go," he ordered the creature. It took one look at him and let go of the boy's head, peeling back to lie limp on the floor in submission. He picked it up and stuffed it in a random tank. He would never kill a sea creature if he could help it. Even if it did suck on people's heads, probably very painfully and cruelly, he was Poseidon's son. Even if it looked like a weird science project gone wrong, it was still a sea animal. He had compassion for those kind of creatures, too.

Percy knelt beside the boy, whose eyes were slowly beginning to flutter open.

"Bloody hell," he cried when he did come to. "Harry's in trouble." He struggled to get to a sitting position, but Percy put his hand on his chest and forced him to lie back down.

"I doubt you're in much condition to fight," he told him. "Why don't you keep an eye on her instead?" He jabbed his thumb at the unconscious girl with the broken arm.

The boy looked at her, both disappointment and relief apparent on his face. "What...? Okay, I could do that," he said. "What do I do if he wakes up?" He pointed a shaky hand at the masked man.

Percy regarded the man who had now fainted under the death-like vice of Percy's water rope. "I'll haul him out of here when I go and lock him in some other room along the hallway. If I take away the stick, he's as good as a mortal, right?"

The red head gave him a funny look, but nodded. "Yes, basically."

"Well then," Percy said, picking up the stick and easily snapping it in two. "He won't be much of an issue anymore now, will he?" He dropped the remains of the rod into the boy's hands. "In an hour, this should all be over. By then, you can take her and come find us." Percy grabbed the unconscious man by his foot and dragged him across the door to the hallway.

He glanced back to see the boy snapping the guy's wand into more and more pieces and gave an unintentional smile. Then he locked the man up as promised and ran to find Annabeth.

* * *

><p>Annabeth found the cries of help easily enough. They were coming from a girl who had been grabbed by the neck by a man in a black robe. He had the tip of a wooden stick pressed to her neck. She tried to recall what she vaguely knew about this world that Percy had explained on their way through the shadow realm, but honestly she had been distracted by the sense of emptiness and impending abyssal doom. All she could really recall was that those wands were weapons for these people. She lunged across the room, still invisible, and slashed across his wrist with her knife. He yelled and dropped the knife. The girl slipped out of his grasp and fell to the ground, breathing hard. A bushy haired girl grabbed her and pulled her to her feet.<p>

And now what? Annabeth hadn't exactly grown up normally, but she had never killed a mortal. At least not intentionally or when it could be avoided by any means possible. In fact, there had only been one instance, and that had really been Luke who delivered the final blow. She had never killed anything that wasn't going to explode into a shower of golden dust when they finished with it. Even the demigods who supported Kronos last summer were only slightly scratched up and disarmed when she was finished with them. She wasn't totally confident about cutting up someone who she didn't even know. It went against her moral code.

Annabeth glanced around for a potential weapon. The guy was still gripping his cut wrist and writhing, and she took that opportunity to step on his wand hard enough to snap it. He looked down to see an invisible hand—er, foot—break his only weapon in two. Now she just needed to tie him up or something. Her eyes raked the room. This shouldn't be too hard. She was the daughter of Athena, for crying out loud!

There was her answer, lying on the floor. A big shag rug was spread out. If she could roll him up in it, it would be fine to leave him on the floor. Annabeth took the opportunity while he was still distracted to tackle him to the ground. He rolled her so that she was pinned, but Annabeth kicked him hard in between the legs, hard. Easily gaining control of the situation, Annabeth quickly wrapped the rug over him and rolled it up as fast as she could. He started thrashing around when he realized what she was doing, but when the roll was complete, she hauled a desk over and dropped it on top of him.

"That ought to keep him put," Annabeth said, taking off her cap and brushing her hands off on her jeans.

The two girls she had come to save were now gaping at her. "Who are you?" asked the bushy haired girl.

"My name's Annabeth Chase, but we can chat later," Annabeth told them, a bit annoyed. The middle of a battle was no time to be striking up a conversation with someone. "For now, we should go regain the fight. You can fight, right?" It wasn't that she normally would have doubted a kid's ability to fight—they brought a thirteen year old boy here, after all—but she wasn't sure what kind of training these people had.

The bushy haired one nodded. "We know some aggressive spells. I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ginny Weasley." Ginny gave her a small, thankful smile. "We need to find Harry, Voldemort's looking for him," she added, her eyes widening in realization.

Annabeth didn't know who that was, but she figured they could ask questions after they kicked Voldemort's butt. "Come on," she told them, running for the door. She led them back down the long hallway and through the door to where she had seen Nico's friends go running through. Even now, she didn't really know their names. Percy had asked her to come help some of Nico's friends that were in trouble, and she had agreed. Normally, Nico put her a little on edge, but she would willingly help him with whatever he needed. And Percy had asked, so of course she was willing.

The room that the battle was now taking place in was a round room, made of stone. In the center, there was a platform that had a large curtain sitting on it. Annabeth shivered. The curtain gave her the same feeling that Nico let off—it was not something she wanted to go near, at all. Briefly, she was reminded of her short visit to the Underworld the first year she knew Percy. The whole time they had been there, there was the sensation of having her soul torn from her body. Percy and Grover hadn't realized it, but if you stayed in the Underworld while still alive for too long, that was exactly what would happen to you. You died. They had been lucky to have the pearls from Percy's dad, or she doubted they would have gotten back out alive. She had chosen not to mention to them exactly how close to dying they had come. But now there was the feeling of having her soul ripped away again. It was being pulled towards that strange veil.

It looked like Nico's friends could hold their own in a fight. They were making a comeback and really knocking a lot of Death Eaters unconscious. The one Nico was closest to, Sirius or something, was locked in combat with a wild eyed woman. She was cackling and shooting all sorts of strange jets of light out of her wand. Annabeth suspected those jets would be highly fatal if any of them touched her.

She turned to see where she could help and watched as Hermione was battling another robed man. It was clear that the girl was losing, as she was a lot smaller and was being overpowered fast. He drew his wand and started to make a sign in the air, and Annabeth knew she had to stop it. She lunged forwards, drawing the kitchen blade and shoving Hermione out of the way. Before she could stab him in the arm to make him drop his stick, a line of purple flames exploded mid air. Annabeth reeled backwards but they ran across her chest. Her eyes widened in shock as everything started to go black. The last thing she saw was Hermione aiming her stick at the man and yelling, _"Expelliarmus!"_

* * *

><p>Nico turned at the sound of Percy's yell just in time to see Annabeth slump to the ground. He grabbed his attacker by his own shadow and pinned him to the ground, breaking his wand in one smooth motion. Percy was running to Annabeth's side and shaking her, trying to get her to open her eyes. Annabeth remained limp in his arms.<p>

Fury filled Nico. Annabeth had taken a chance in trusting him and coming to help his friends, and now he had put her in harm's way. Mostly, he was angry with himself, but he swung around and directed all of his hatred straight at the nearest target, an unfortunate robed man that found himself wrapped in shadows and banished to the shadow realm. He narrowed his eyes. Who could he get rid of next?

A pile of rubble had landed on the ground near him when a missed curse blew up a portion of the wall. Nico raised his hand and the rocks rattled and shot into the air. Then he turned to help Sirius with his fight. His friend was on the platform, dueling with a curly haired witch. As he watched, already reeling back the enchanted rubble to fling at the girl's head, Sirius dodged a curse and threw back his head to laugh. "Is that the best you can do, cousin?" he taunted.

The witch raised her wand, an insane sparkle to her eye, and shot a curse that knocked him back off his feet. Before his eyes, his friend flew against the curtain... and then went through it. But he didn't reappear on the other side. Shocked, Nico dropped all of the rocks as the witch began to cackle. His body felt numb. He barely noticed when her shadow flew up and broke both her arms simultaneously—it had been a subconscious action.

Nico began striding towards the veil. Next to him, he could see Harry frozen in place, horrified, but he didn't stop to help him. Someone grabbed his shoulder roughly. "Nico, stop," Lupin ordered him. "You can't do anything now, he's dead." He turned his head to see tears sparkling in Lupin's eyes, but there was nothing in his own gaze, he knew. Nico wasn't going to cry over this just yet.

"I can help," he said. "I can save him." Lupin shook his head sadly.

"Nobody can save him," Lupin told him. "He's gone." All around them, the battle raged on, but to Nico's ears, everything was deadly quiet. He shook off Lupin's hand and ran to the platform in the center of the room. As he stood in front of the veil, Nico knew exactly what was on the other side of it. The Underworld was right beyond this gate. If he was right, this would be a fast way to get in without having to die. With any luck, this wouldn't drop him straight in the middle of Dad's court. He'd probably be obliterated on the spot before he noticed it was him. Actually, he'd probably be obliterated even if he noticed. Hopefully, Sirius wasn't there, either.

Before he stepped inside the Underworld, Nico glanced back to see Lupin shaking his head at him frantically. "I'll be back soon with Sirius," he promised, and then he pushed through.

* * *

><p>AN: I am now aware I can't write action scenes to save my life. Something to work on in the future! But right now, I'm trying to finish this because there's only 1 MORE CHAPTER! And I go to camp on Saturday, so I don't want to leave you hanging on this thing for a whole month. I think you would feel the same, right? I've decided that if I do the epilogue, it won't be until I get back. Or maybe not at all. Do you guys think I should?

Also, if there is a sentence that lacks a verb or something, please mention it to me... I wrote and edited around 1 AM, so I wasn't thinking my clearest. Sowwy!

Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

"Nico, wait!" Lupin shouted after him, but Nico wasn't paying attention anymore. The veil was cool to the touch and silky, but it seemed almost... alive. Nico wondered exactly why his father had the veil, as he didn't need it to go in and out of the Underworld himself. Perhaps someone from the wizarding world built it, he guessed. A long, dark tunnel stretched downwards into the black.

He turned and looked behind him, but the battle was blurred and swirling, like he was looking at it through a pair of low prescription glasses. He could still make out the forms of his friends and allies(Nico wouldn't go quite so far as to call Moody a friend), but they were distorted by the veil. He reached out a hand to brush against it, but it shocked his fingers. Jerking them away, Nico put his burnt fingers in his mouth, worried.

Sure, he could shadow travel out of the Underworld without any trouble, but shadow traveling tended to tear a person's soul away from their body a little more. Part of the reason it exhausted him so much was because it was slowly peeling back his soul like a sticker, and the easiest way to glue it back down was to sleep. Other people didn't feel it as badly as him, because they didn't put as much effort into it. If Sirius was already down here, shadow traveling while his soul was coming loose could rip it away and kill him once and for all.

He considered the options. Sirius could stay here and die with no hope of coming back to life... or he could try and rescue him, giving him a little bit of a chance. Nico faced the yawning mouth of the Underworld and dropped his bag next to the veil before marching down into the depths.

The closer he came to the bottom of the hole, the lighter it was growing. While many people imagined the Underworld as the darkest hell possible, it was actually rather like a city at night. The place had been industrialized by all the recent wars and deaths in the world that had forced them to expand quickly. Now Hades had stoplights and streetlamps and buildings that glowed white from their windows. Were it not for the skeletal people and faint, wispy ghosts occupying it, Nico would have thought it looked an awful lot like Las Angelos.

He spun around in a circle, looking for Sirius. The veil had dumped them just after the E-Z Death turnstiles, so he knew his friend hadn't been eaten by Cereberus. All sorts of other bad things that could happen in the Underworld ran through his head. The skeleton guards could catch him and execute him, the other spirits could sense his life and attack him, he could fall into Tartarus... Suddenly, a bony hand grabbed his shoulder. Nico spun around, startled. A skeleton in a World War Two uniform chattered its jaw and stared into his face. "_Alive_," it hissed, cocking its AK-47.

Nico held up his hands. "Hold on, buddy," he said. "I'm Hades's kid. You want to mess with the boss's son?" he asked, folding his arms and getting a stubborn look on his face.

The thing clacked its mandible up and down in affirmation, but it was much slower and it was lowering the tip of the gun. Good, Nico thought, it's getting confused.

"That's right," he said. "You shoot me and my dad will throw you straight into Tartarus. You don't want that, do you?"

Maybe it was his tone, or maybe the skeleton hated having to suck up to a little kid(which Nico could understand—if he had been the skeleton, he would probably have shot him, too). Either way, it lifted its gun and aimed it at Nico's face before unloading an entire clip at him. Nico ducked and rolled between its legs and came up, summoning his Stygian ice knife and stabbed it in the gut. It exploded in a wave of black flames and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, that seemed to sound an alarm. All around him, skeletons were turning around and charging towards him. The spirits in line for death were starting to get impatient, and were all beginning to shuffle through to the line for Judgment for Elysium.

"Why is this so hard?" Nico shouted at one, stabbing it in the ribcage. If it had been going to answer him, he would never know, because it was suddenly a cloud of black fire. He made towards Elysium, jumping over the dividers for the line into Judgment. Unlike ones commonly found in airports, these were ringed with barbed wire and Stygian ice. Were he not the son of Hades, he would have had his soul sucked out. Then again, if he weren't the son of Hades, he'd probably never had to come here in the first place. Even with his resistance to the Underworld ice, Nico still managed to cut a gash in his palm from the barbed wire. Wincing, Nico clenched his fist and looked back. The skeletons had stopped pursuing him. He wondered if they were allowed to open fire on paradise-like Elysium. The sandy beaches and the cottages made him almost long for death.

Now that he had lost those stupid guards, Nico spun around to try and find Sirius. As he was about to try and sneak back out of Elysium, he caught sight of a familiar mess of dark hair, moving as if in a trance towards two ghosts. He ran to catch him before he spoke with the ghosts. While Nico was allowed to communicate with the dead, he didn't think that Hades would approve of a mortal getting to do so.

Nico grabbed Sirius's shoulder and spun him around, appraising his soul. It was pulling away from his body quickly now, but nothing serious enough that a good sleep wouldn't fix it. Nico had noticed that Sirius's soul had been damaged for the longest time, and he was a little shocked to see that traveling to the Underworld was not the worst strain he had had on his spirit. "Are you okay?" he asked his friend. "We have to go, now."

Sirius turned his head and looked back at the two ghosts, who were now lovingly embracing each other. "But..." he said slowly, trying to catch their eyes. "I need to talk to them."

Nico hesitated and took a good look at the two ghosts. Where had he seen the man before? He reminded him of someone. He knew there was someone he knew just like him. "Who is that man, Sirius?"

His friend pulled away his arm and began to wander back towards them. "Lily and James Potter," he told Nico. Nico stopped. Harry's parents? He had sensed they were dead before, but meeting them in Elysium was a whole other thing. He wondered what they had done that qualified them for Elysium. "My old friends," he called out, and the ghosts looked up. Both of them smiled, and it was almost eerie how much Nico saw of Harry in James. Except for his eyes. He had his mother's eyes.

"Sirius," Lily said pleasantly. "I'm so sorry that you've died."

"Will you be joining us here?" James asked, eagerly. A mischievous light danced in his eyes. Nico thought that if he had been young today, he would have gotten along very well with the Stoll brothers. "Think of all the pranks we can pull now that you're down here, too!"

"No," Nico said, just as Sirius said, "Yes!" He pushed Sirius back so he could explain to the ghosts. "Sirius isn't actually dead yet. But if he stays, he will be."

Sirius seemed surprised by the news. "But I can't get back through that veil. So it's really only a matter of time, right?" Sirius waved a pair of burnt fingers that matched Nico's, and he realized he, too, had tried to cross back the other way.

Nico shook his head. "There are other ways we can try to get out. Like riding the ferry the other way. I can bribe Charon with enough gold that he'll do it, no questions asked."

James and Sirius both looked a little disappointed that they wouldn't be able to cause mayhem in the Underworld just yet, but Lily patted Sirius's cheek. "You'll have to take good care of Harry for us until you join us again," she said.

At the mention of Harry, James's eyes lit up. "How is our son?" he asked, wearing a sly grin. "Has he got a girlfriend yet?"

Nico pressed his palm against his forehead and sighed. All three of the adults looked at him. "I don't mean to rush the family reunion," he told them. "But Sirius is actually dying as we speak, and you two talking to a living mortal is totally forbidden. If Hades finds out, he could send you straight to the Fields of Punishment. Actually, more likely he would send _all_ of us to the Fields."

Lily gave Sirius a gentle little hug. "Tell Harry we're proud of him," she said. James and Sirius bear hugged, which worried Nico. If Sirius could now touch ghosts, that meant he was getting closer and closer to being one. He grabbed his friend's arm and began hauling him. If they were lucky, Charon was lazing about on this side of the Styx. If not... He'd come up with a Plan B when the time came.

They arrived at the docks, but to Nico's dismay there wasn't a boat in sight. He swore in ancient Greek. For the first time, Sirius seemed to come out of his fog. "Hold on," he said slowly as Nico grabbed his arm and began dragging him back the other way, towards the veil. Maybe they could figure something out there. "This place is where dead people go. But you're not dead," he added.

"Brilliant deduction," Nico sighed. He didn't want to have this conversation with his friend right now. It wasn't the time or place to reveal he was a demigod. "I'm here to get you out, but we may have to try a much riskier method." He glanced at Sirius, who's soul was practically halfway out of his body. It looked like it didn't stick down to him very well anymore.

"This whole place feels like Azkaban," Sirius said, shivering. "It's cold and miserable."

Nico nodded. "Sounds like the Underworld," he told him. While he didn't know what an Azkaban was, he didn't think it was the right time to start demanding his friend tell him.

The long tunnel leading back up to the veil was in sight, but it was much steeper than he remembered. Nico tried to climb it, but he slid down the walls. It was slick and covered in bugs, nothing like when he had tried to walk down it. "What's going on here?" he demanded, hitting the wall with his fists.

Behind him, something moved. He spun around and pushed Sirius back, drawing his Stygian ice sword out of thin air. "Oh, please," Hades sniffed, snapping his fingers. The sword exploded into a million tiny fragments. "You couldn't hurt me with that thing if I threw myself onto the blade."

"Dad," he said, shocked.

"Dad?" Sirius asked, equally stunned. He looked Hades up and down. Well, mostly up, as the god had chosen to appear in his twelve foot form, and even six foot Sirius barely came to his waist. The immortal lord of the dead was in a more traditional robe today. His black, ragged toga had a silver border around the edge, and he had the helm of darkness under his arm, cocked confidently. In his other hand, he held a six foot long sword. "Oh," he said.

"You're not allowed to bring people back to life, Nico," Hades admonished. He sounded vaguely disappointed in his son, which just made Nico drop his gaze and clench his shoulders up around his ears. "Even I am not permitted to do as such. Although I do enjoy those zombie movies mortals love dearly."

"With all due respect, my lord," Nico said, "Sirius isn't dead yet."

Hades crouched down and stuck his face about two inches from Sirius's nose. "Barely," he remarked, bored. "If he stays, he'll die soon enough."

"It's not his time yet," Nico insisted. "Sir."

Hades pulled his head back up and sighed. "What will people think if I start letting mortals come back to life? Next thing you know, Zeus will be on my back, and then he'll replace me with some young fool. Bad enough that he always holds it over my head he won the lottery for the sky."

"This one was never dead," Nico pleaded. "I'll explain things to Zeus if he finds out, but Sirius won't be telling people where he was. Right?" He nudged his friend in the side, hard. Sirius winced and jumped, but he nodded, still staring at Hades with wide eyes.

Hades grumbled something incoherent about the Fields of Punishment. "I have to say, Nico, I'm surprised you finally developed a spine," he told him. Nico's eyes widened. While he knew to Sirius it probably sounded like an insult, _his father had just praised him_. What was going on? Hades looked like he was eating something sour. He snapped and the tunnel straightened back out. "You'll be able to get through the veil now, as well. Nico... I know other demigods may not be the kindest to you, and that you've got a lot of worries to carry on your back." He cleared his throat. "You'll be able to handle them. I'm proud of you."

Sirius jutted out his chin and stared up at Hades, looking just as intimidating. He didn't need to be past Hades's belt buckle to make him recoil in shock. "I dare say you ought to be!" he proclaimed. "You have a wonderful son, and he's done so many things that should make you respect him. And instead, you insult him about growing a spine? What an awful father you are!"

Nico winced. Sirius was trying to stand up for him, and while he appreciated the thought, he was convinced Sirius was about to get them both killed. Hades had originally been confused and slightly entertained by the impertinent mortal man, but now his face grew dark. His eyebrows drew together and he clenched his jaw. "What did you say to me, mortal?" he snarled, for the first time lifting the sword in a threatening way that showed he meant business.

Nico figured Sirius had about ten seconds before Hades lost his temper and began blowing things up, including Sirius. He didn't really like the idea of them getting so close to freedom and then winding up as nothing more than dust banished to the Fields of Punishment. Whatever goodwill Hades had been feeling moments before had vanished, and his black eyes were glowing with a frightening light. He spun Sirius's shoulder and gave him a good shove up the tunnel towards the veil.

The two of them were about halfway up before Hades let out a roar and a stalactite above them shattered and began raining down rocks on them. The entire tunnel began to rock and Nico lost his footing as something heavy hit him in the head from above. Nico caught it instinctively and found it was his backpack. It seemed like the tunnel was slowly tipping back down to its vertical position. Sirius grabbed his wrist before he could fall into the Underworld. His friend hauled him back to his feet and they scrabbled up the last few feet.

Now the veil was above them like the surface of a pool that they had just swum up to. Nico was clutching a brick that was sticking out of the frame at an odd angle, and Sirius had braced himself with his shoulders on one wall of the tunnel and his feet on the other. Hesitantly, Nico reached out a hand and touched the veil, praying to his father that his fingers weren't about to burned beyond belief. By some miracle, they went through. He let out a relieved hoot and plunged his arm up through the surface, feeling around for a grip on the outside to pull himself up with. Beside him, Sirius kicked his legs through, locking them both around the frame of the veil. Then the two of them pulled themselves up and through the veil.

The gravity change hit Nico like a sack of bricks. He went tumbling to the ground, but not back through the veil. Suddenly, down was what had previously been his left, and his right became his prior down. Next to him, Sirius had crawled back to his feet already and drawn his wand, but the fight seemed to have moved to a different location. Instead, there were only bodies lying on the floor. Nico did a quick headcount and was relieved to find Percy and Annabeth were not among them. Had Annabeth been revived, then? He said a quick prayer to whoever was listening.

"So that was your father?" Sirius asked, looking a bit white in the face. Nico glanced at him. In all the commotion, he had forgotten about how Sirius might be handling the whole, 'the Greek gods are real' thing. He gave him a sympathetic grin.

"Yep. Hades, lord of the dead," he said. "You were just in the Underworld there."

Sirius blinked, shocked. "I don't really know a whole lot about Greek mythology... It never was taught at Hogwarts, you see."

Nico shrugged. "As a mortal, you don't really need to. It's not like you'll be fighting of sphinxes in dark alleys or something."

But he shook his head. "Doesn't that make you... half god?"

"Well... when you say it like that..." Nico said, opening the orange backpack to make sure everything he needed was in there. "Let's not talk about this now, okay? We need to go find the others."

"Can't you contact your friends with the coins like you did for me?" Sirius asked.

Nico zipped the backpack and shook his head, striding towards the door. "We need a rainbow for that, and unless you know a spell for it, we aren't going to find one." He looked back at Sirius, who raised his hands apologetically. "Percy's probably locked in mortal combat right now. I think it would be a bad idea." He closed his eyes and tried to feel if there was any large source of death in this building besides the obviously large Department of Mysteries. It was hard, with all of the vibes swirling around him, and a portal to the Underworld literally in the next room, but suddenly something so huge and frighteningly zombie-like appeared on his radar. Nico let out his breath and tripped, snapping his eyes open.

"Nico?" Sirius asked. "Is everything alright?" Nico began to run down the hall. Behind him, he felt Sirius follow him. "What's going on?"

"There's someone here who should have died a long time ago," he explained breathlessly. "He's still alive somehow, though. And I know I recognize the spirit..." Nico rounded a corner and threw the backpack over his shoulder to free his hands, summoning up a Stygian ice sword.

"Nico?" Sirius demanded, catching his wrist. His voice was a bit anxious now. "Who do you recognize it from?"

"It's the same one that's stuck to Harry," Nico told him before throwing open a big pair of double doors. Across the floor, an elderly man and a pasty thing were locked in combat. Both of them were shooting spells back and forth like lightning, blocking equally quickly. Nico grabbed his shoulders. This thing was _not_ supposed to be alive. How was it still here? Nobody was allowed to cheat death. Everyone would fail in the end.

Another door at the other end of the hall blew open and a group of official looking men marched in, instantly freezing. The pale creature snapped its head towards them before snarling ferociously and disappearing with a bang.

"He's back," the man at the head of them whispered, but it carried to the entire hall.

Nico's eyes widened. As in, left the Underworld? He winced in disgust. His father would not be pleased. Hopefully things would right themselves before Hades got involved.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled, running across the floor and tackling his godfather. "You're alive!"

"Your parents say hello," Sirius said, hugging him back. "Lily is so proud of you. James asked if you had a girlfriend."

Harry turned red and laughed before turning to Nico. "I don't know how I can thank you enough," he said, holding out his hand for Nico to shake.

Nico grinned, pulling the backpack off his shoulder and putting it in Harry's extended hand. "I kind of owed you one for borrowing your things. Besides, you're not the only one who likes him around." Harry unzipped the bag and pulled out a handful of his invisibility cloak. He gave Nico a wry smile.

Suddenly, a red jet of light flew past their heads. "Sirius Black!" one of the men on the other side of the room was yelling. "Give yourself up now!" They were all marching towards them in an angry pack. More spells and hexes flew past their heads.

"Come on," Nico said quickly, grabbing his friend's arm and dragging him along. Lupin followed after them, obviously feeling that he'd be better off not being caught in a place he didn't even work in the middle of the night. They ran out a random door and Lupin bounded up a flight of stairs, spinning a sharp corner. "You do know where we're going, right?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm taking us to where Percy and Annabeth are," Lupin said. "Other than that, no, not a clue." Somehow this didn't reassure Nico. He didn't know how they were all going to get out after this. Lupin suddenly dragged the two of them down a hallway and they all pressed into a little alcove, holding their breath.

Running feet soon caught up. "Where did he go?"

"I can't believe he took that little kid hostage!" another voice chimed in, sounding disgusted. "You go left. I'll go right." The man's footsteps were getting closer and closer to them, and a light was shining bright enough that Nico knew there was no hope of them being missed in the shadows.

Nico started to lift the tip of his sword, thinking if he just threatened him with it, he might turn away, but Lupin put a hand on his shoulder and pulled out his wand. He leaped into the hallway. "_Imperio_!" he cried. The man seized up. "Sirius Black went the other way," he told him.

"Black went that direction. I should follow him," the man said, nodding in a confused stupor. He turned jerkily and began to head back the direction his partner had gone. Sirius stepped into the hallway and waved at his retreating back.

"You guys!" Percy said, sounding relieved. Nico looked over his shoulder to see Percy coming down the hall with Annabeth over his shoulder. He checked over her anxiously. She wasn't conscious, but her life was pretty stable. She wouldn't be dying any time soon. "Can you get all of us out of here?"

Nico bit his lip. Aside from Sirius's and his souls, the others could totally shadow travel without dying. But Sirius was now practically a ghost, and Nico was... well, Nico. He didn't always have the tightest grip on life. While he was getting better at shadow traveling, the side effects were that his soul peeled away. And while he could stick it back on, just like any sticker that was stuck to more than one thing, it would eventually become linty and covered in cat hair, and lose its stickiness. Even so... Sirius could hardly stay here. He would risk it, but he wouldn't let his friend do the same. "Do you know any way to keep someone's soul in their body?" he asked Lupin.

Lupin bit his lip thoughtfully. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a squished lump of something in a piece of paper. "Eat it," he told Sirius, who opened it up. It was a melty square of chocolate. He broke it in half and handed Nico the other piece. Nico regarded it dubiously.

"Is it magic?" he asked, sniffing it.

Sirius popped it in his mouth and let out a hoot of laughter. "Nope. Just regular old chocolate," he said.

"It's good after dementor attacks. I figure dementors basically suck out your soul with their kiss, so it figures that it might be good for loose souls in general," Lupin explained. Nico ate it and to his surprise, felt much better. He glanced at Sirius. He felt a lot more alive now.

"Okay, I think we can make the trip," Nico said, reaching out to grab everyone. He yanked them towards a shadow in the corner of the room and they were suddenly flying through the shadow realm. For Sirius and Lupin, who had never shadow traveled before, this must have been a pretty traumatic experience, he figured. They were both wide eyed. He wanted to tell them to close their eyes, but Nico was starting to feel sick. The whole journey was nauseating.

When they touched down, Nico practically collapsed on the grass. He looked up to see Sirius turn into a dog and run eagerly in a circle. A butterfly flitted past and he snapped at it. For a moment, Nico was confused. Sirius was Padfoot? They would be having a talk when he wasn't half dead.

Lupin picked him up off the ground and looked to Percy. "What now?"

"Nico's brought us to camp, so he must want to sleep in his own bed tonight. You can go back to Europe when he wakes up," Percy said, grinning. "He might be a bit tired for awhile."

"Understandably so," Sirius laughed, turning back into a human. "Aren't you exhausted as well?"

Percy shrugged. "I've gotten used to being tired. It's a side effect of being invincible. We should probably let Chiron know you're here." Nico had dropped them right on the lawn of the Big House. When Lupin turned to take in the lava spewing climbing wall, he could see the whole camp. As painful a place as it could be sometimes, Nico loved camp. He wouldn't trade it for all the beaches of Elysium.

The door on the Big House flew open and Lupin turned back around. "Are you guys all okay?" Grover bleated, tromping down the stairs. "Nico? You're not dead, right?" The concern in his voice made Nico smile sleepily.

Things were looking up, but for now the only thing Nico really wanted to be looking at was the inside of his eyelids. He closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

* * *

><p>AN: Just want to mention to my readers how much I love y'all, because without you I would be like, nobody loves me, what am I thinking, I can't write. Seriously, I looked at my traffic stats one day and was all WHUT. You are amazing. Let's all be best friends, okay?

I attended the Harry Potter 7 part 2 midnight release in full costume and basically cried from about 45 minutes in to the closing credits #dehydratedwimp. Harry Potter will always be there to welcome us home.

Please leave a review! Thanks for coming with me to the end of this, and check my profile out for more information on my new ideas!


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